When Events Change Our Lives

The past week has been one of those weeks where events have swirled around me, without directly affecting me, yet impacting my life in all kinds of ways, both happy and sad. Some of those events were close and some at a distance, yet, they have now become a part, large or small of who I shall be hereafter. Let me explain.

Last Saturday, all six of my grandchildren were at our house. Five girls and one boy, ages almost 11 to 2 1/2. The noise and activity level at our place was incredible, and I don't think I've heard the word "Grampy" so many times and so loudly ever before. But it was an incredibly wonderful time to just observe the wonder of those young lives. My grandson saw the fish on the fishfinder on my boat and then ran over to the side to see if he could see them in the water. The 2 1/2 year old never ever stopped running--inside or out--the whole time and always had a smile on her face. The almost 11 year old was above the fray, preferring to talk to adults than the "little kids." The day ended, but my energy continued long after they were gone.

I also lost two people who were in my life. One was a colleague with whom I had shared time and talk for two years. He was younger than I and chose to deal with severe stress in his life in a very permanent and unfortunate way. Every church leader should be aware of these kinds of situations, which occur with too much regularity and take care of their pastor's before something else tragic appears. I recently found out that anti-depressant medication is the largest single claim on pastor's health insurance in the United Methodist Church in Iowa. The second person to go was my wife's best friend's mother, who passed away at age 96. There is too much in that life to describe, but everyone knew her at Gramma Mary, and she was a person who involved herself in your life--even when you didn't really want advice, you got it. And she will be missed by all of us whom she Grandma'd.

Finally, the news last evening brought news of the Bridge Collapse in the Twin Cities. Since one of my son's lives there, we were somewhat concerned, but he and his family are fine. But what struck me was the almost instantaneous effort of media and others to assess blame for the event. Someone must take the blame and be excoriated for it. When Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, we couldn't blame the act of God, so we blamed FEMA. When wild fires destroy the west, we blame global warming. I guess it is our nature to do that. Instead, I would hope, we could spend some time just standing along side those who lost someone in the tragedy. Hold them up and help them through the dark night. There will be plenty of time later to figure out if something could have been done differently. Now is simply not the time.

I think all of that is enough to let you know how my life has changed this week. How have events changed yours?