Overwhelmed

 We all are seeing just how crazy people can be over the years, but there is so much craziness now that it's bordering on insanity.

If there is one thing I've learned over the last few years is that no matter how much we want to say that we are safe and protected in our country, it certainly doesn't feel like it.  I've talked in the past about how human beings are going through a de-evolutionary process.  Some have already reached Neanderthal stage.  That is how rapidly it is happening.  Someone is bound to get to a point of truly trying to literally reinvent the wheel.

Yet there are also many conspiracy theorists who believe that what has been happening around us and around the world is staged -- choreographed for the world to make us believe in something that isn't real.  Please don't listen to them.  The wars in Ukraine, Russia, and the Middle East, and, the wildfires, plane crashes, people committing suicide, and so many other events that are extraordinary ARE happening every day.  It is disheartening.

But what is even more distressing at times is the number of people who are dealing with terminal or critical illnesses, or the number of people who are dealing with depression.  As I titled this blog, I can be overwhelmed indeed.  But like the author of the Book of Lamentations says in the Old Testament, 

"This I will call to mind; therefore I will hope:  

The LORD’s acts of mercy are not exhausted, his compassion is not spent;

They are renewed each morning—great is your faithfulness!"

Lots of people I know can simply go to bed with so much on their minds, sometimes feeling all alone, or cheated by God because they were given a diagnosis they didn't expect from a doctor, and without a good prognosis for quality of life.  Yet, there are also many who simply "roll with the punches" and just see a small bump in the road, not a pothole.  That is challenging.  I have had many nights of worrying about the next day or upcoming week.  It's not a fun way to think, and I still have days like that.  It's not easy.  But as I have also spoken of in the past in other platforms, my motto of living is "Professional Fun."  If I was ever made a bishop (heaven forbid), I would have to figure out how to say that in Latin for my episcopal crest (that's an explanation for another blog).

I have been asked for many years about "Professional Fun."  What is that?  What do you mean?

My explanation of this philosophy started when I began thinking about my own dad and the friends he had.  Relationships/Friendships were very important to him as an insurance salesman.  He knew how to treat people with respect and dignity.  What he used as his "hook" was humor when needed.  But dad and his circle always had what I called this way of always finding a way to either have fun together, even in some of the darker times.  You see, "Professional Fun" doesn't mean that every minute of the day was going to be happy, joyful, and FUN; however, every day you could get out of bed and say that it's worth doing again.  Dad would come home from collecting from his customers, having left early on Saturday mornings, get home at lunch, and not always have the best days.  Yet, in the grand scheme of things, he must have had some good days along the way -- after all, he did his job for 40+ years.  That's dedication.  And somehow, he always found a way to have some fun.  So all of the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed, but there will be a good time with others along the way.  Every day was worth the effort to get out of bed and do it again.  Of course, he also said I was the only priest that could put real fun into FUNerals.  I try.

So in my almost 24 years of priesthood, has every day been smelling the roses?  Not even close, but I still believe in the work God has called me to do.