A friend, whose name will go unmentioned for obvious reasons, asked me tongue in cheek today whether I’ll hang up my blogging cleats, so to speak … now that I’m cured. Uh, that will be a no and a no. 🙂

You’ve all been so kind and loving in your support since we shared the news from yesterday! Diane and I just bask in the reality that this is how we were all designed in the first place. To be in community, sharing life with its many joys and challenges.

In the short run, it’ll be a bit like testing the waters. The problem is still there and it’s not a good thing. But, we have a great doctor, a Plan A and Plans B and C. One of the immediate challenges for me will be how to balance everything and not overextend. Keep the RPM levels stable when facing some big projects in the next couple of months. I’m not really anxious about it as I am part of high functioning teams that are designed to collaborate and shift responsibilities to get the important stuff done. As it should be.

I wish I could share all of the conversations Diane and I are having and have had in the past five weeks. I try to share some of them. This is what I mean by, having embarked on that canoe down the river, there’s no question of going back.

I suspect that this verse I’ll share may not be received in the same way by everyone, be they Christians or not. Whether you believe that Jesus is God or, even, if there is a personal and loving God, I hope it resonates.

Paul writes in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This can be taken in a number of different ways. Here’s my take and it’s not one where God pays me back for being loyal. Not at all. It’s that, when we surrender through love, good things are discovered and flourish. That when we recognize we are not in charge of the whole thing but are called to a higher and deeper purpose, beauty arrives.

I’ve mentioned countless times in recent weeks that I feel I’m living in Romans 8:28. It says, “in all things,” not just nice things.

Dawn and Ryan said this past weekend that the Kingdom of God is found in the most desolate of places. That is where it truly flourishes. Not in nice easy places but in hard, hard places. That flourishing is a thing of immense beauty.

Diane and I are surrounded by immense beauty.

Lord, thank you for following through on your promise. Help us always to be open to finding the good, even when things are bad. Thank you for weaving us together in love. We rejoice and marvel in that. Help us to stay within the banks and trust the river’s flow, listening for your whispers and responding appropriately to your guidance. Thank you for your faith in us. Amen.