The New Journey

If I were writing a book about these years of retirement, I think I would call the book, "The Journey from There to Here."   But, do not worry about being put in the awkward postion of saying that you would not buy such a book.  It is not being written.  My ego says it would be a best seller, but my Mom, if she were still on this side of the veil, would no doubt say to me, "Now, Son, remember I may be your only reader."  My Mother alway showed a streak of a kind but realistic spirit so the book will remain just something unwritten which exists in my imagination.   

But, if I were to write it, I think I have a good title.  Maybe nothing else would be good, but still it is a good title.  There is much for me to think about when I consider the journey from there to here.   It is a journey which has taken me from pulpit to farm, from a robe to work jeans, from carrying a good black pen to carrying a sharp pocket knife, from preaching to writing, from the computer to the tractor.  It has taken me on a journey from kneeling at an altar to kneeling in the dirt, from watching the liturgical calendar to watching the actual weather, and from being surrounded by people to mostly being alone.    

All of these things speak of a journey that is visible to those who might have nothing else to do but watch.  But, there has been another journey on the road from there to here which is one that has been mostly invisible to any bystander.  The most significant journey has been the one which has taken me from a world of being busy for the sake of being busy to a world where I am learning about solitude and silence.  It is not a journey most folks want to take.  I avoided it for nearly forty years, but retirement here at the farm unfolded that possiblity as a way of life in such a gentle and inviting manner that I dared to walk into it.  The deeper into it I go, the more I become aware of how far there is still to go on the journey from there to here.  Or, perhaps, it is not the journey from there to here so much as it is the journey from here to there.