Aprill 21 - First Day

Not in the mood to write much, but here are a couple of things I've noticed so far:

      1)  Getting out of NYC is like flipping a switch. I unlocked my phone and brought a spare, but since yesterday was a holiday here in Jamaica, I couldn’t buy a sim card.  I’m not even bothering with international service any more, so my phone is off.  And I’m still alive!!  I struggle so hard to manage my expectations when I’m in the City; as soon as I leave it, I’m reminded of Paul in his letter to  the church at Philippi, where he says :”…I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to  be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” 

2    

2         2)  I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m talking about anyone, because I’m not.  But as I travel, I am acutely aware of how much of our own expectations we bring to any given situation, and how our interactions then become an exercise in dealing with our expectations rather than in dealing with the reality before us.  Sometimes we’re so entrenched in our expectations that they warp or completely obscure any reality different from them.  And then I wonder if the same might be true of our relationship with God.  Is it possible we’re so busy trying to view God through our own individual lenses that we miss the opportunity to view ourselves and the world around us through the Divine lens of the Creator?  How much do we miss because we’re waiting for God to send a thunderbolt from the sky and are unaware of the gentle caress of the wind?    

3    3)    So my task becomes to live more and more in the moment, to value each moment as a Divine gift, to appreciate the beauty in it, and to treasure it as such.  I’ve got a lot of work to do, but that’s the next step for me.

     Got a message from a preacher in Philadelphia whose daughter lives here in Jamaica.  We communicated last night; she wants to come to the Annual Conference.  I'm looking forward to going to Good News, seeing the good people, and hearing more of the Good News.  We're heading to breakfast now; I'ma go be social.