Orlando, FL 2009: Sometimes, like right now, a break in the action would be most welcomed. But, as we are all up against it, we should well remember that we asked for this and we were made for it. Perhaps like a good coach, we should save our timeouts for a sweeter later.

From Trent Ling:

“I have much to write to you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink.  I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.”  3 John :13-14.

In the olden days, we went to school together daily, and enjoyed face-to-face friendship and fellowship regularly.  Nearsighted at the time, perhaps we thought it would last forever.  Then came college moves, graduate school migrations, career demands, marital transformations, parental priorities, new and fresh callings, ambitious commitments, and technological advances that made it all seem simultaneously possible.  Though entirely volitional and wonderful, the decades-long whirlwind simply shows no signs of slowing.  Little time, few opportunities, lousy proximity, and an unrelenting horizon make for a continuing time apart.  More rare and fleeting become the faces, the touches, and the chances.

While technology has produced great possibilities, its prospects mostly beget only greater responsibilities:  the staggering burdens to walk the straight and narrow, reach and maintain unity, raise champions, excel and exceed, spread the news, and win the world.  While busyness necessitates goodbyes, new toys in this advanced universe hasten renewed quasi-hellos.  Writing, broadcasting, sharing, and giving no longer require stamps, operators, or delays.  Type, click, zip, done.  Who would have ever thought such large-scale dissemination possible?  But, as fantastic as it gets, nothing will ever beat those slower times of tenderness.  Perhaps only the aged will ever know or appreciate this.

Sensing the stakes and prospects, my heart yearns to provide something in the bowl for any and all (“Food in the Bowl”) on a regular and reliable basis.  And so, I do.  However, I will always miss and long for easier, gentler days when clocks and calendars did not oppress and when To Do Lists seemed finite.  Perhaps we will all live long enough to acquire recliners and walkers, and perhaps then we will agree to make a ninth-inning, spirited return to bygone, halcyon days.

In the meantime, I recognize and mumble sadly an overdue goodbye to the way it used to be.  On the flip side, I utter demonstrably an emerging hello to the way it has become.  This letter aims to establish nothing new.  It simply acknowledges the scoreboard in this vigorous, eternal game we so enthusiastically play.

Please feel free to join and further the discussion via the options below. No email or website information is required to post comments (unless you seek the notifications offered).