My Grandmother died this week at age 85. We will be burying her today. I was fortunate to have a relationship with her and know her for 30+ years, since many people don’t know their Grandparents that long.

The reason for my post is to make an observation and pay tribute to my heritage. She had a long life and shared most of it with my Grandfather - they were married for 63 years. WOW! It is wierd, but at work this week, I have found myself kinda proud to tell people how long they were married - as if I had something to do with it. I think it is a great accomplishment for them and for our family, and I know my life has been impacted by their commitment to each other. Having been married for only 8 years this week, I can only imagine what 63 years can be like.

The hardest part of this week for me has been watching my Grandfather have to let go of my Grandmother. She died b/c she fell and hit her head. One moment, they are together in the car, the next…separated by mortality. Even though I know that is how it is for everyone, it still just seems so sudden. I can’t imagine how it must feel to have your best friend of 63 years just gone in an instant.

About the title of this post…when my Grandmother was laying in the hospital and we were all in the room together, my Grandfather said something that will probably stick with me for a long time. We were trying to console him of course, and someone pointed out how long they were married and how wonderful that was. He sort-of paused, then commented, “Yeah, but it all seems like a dream now.” Can you imagine? 63 years just gone like a dream. I guess so, when you think about it. Forgive me for not looking up the passage, but I know that Scripture talks about how brief our life is when compared to the Eternal. How true that is.

I’ve often wrestled with living in the moment. So many times, I get caught up in memories of the past or in waiting for the future. I think one key to enjoying life is probably being able to enjoy, cherish and embrace the beauty of the moment…no matter how boring, exciting, sad or happy the moment is. I can only hope and pray that I’m able to live like that more and more each day.

Well, I hope you enjoy your day and find a way to live in the moment. I’m going to try to simply enjoy the moment of being with my family and remembering a lady who loved me and set a good example of commitment for us. What a wonderful blessing I have been given to watch part of a 63 year dream take place.

If you haven’t seen Paul Potts singing at Britain’s Got Talent then you need to watch.

More info here.

HT : The Christian Mind

I don’t want to hunt for a new church. And I really, really don’t like the idea of church-hopping. But the possibility of us moving on is definitely looming on the horizon. It’s not a done deal, by any means. There are conversations to be had and questions to work through which have the potential to keep us where we are at.

This is not a new subject for the blogosphere. Many have wrestled with what are the valid reasons for leaving a church. And along with that what are the essentials for fellowshipping with a group of believers. I’m grateful for people like the iMonk and my cyber-friend Katiekind - one of the most thoughtful bloggers I know - who have gone through similar situations and have wisdom to glean from.

That said, it still helps me to write things out going through my own thought processes and using my own words. This is what I have so far. It’s imperfect and all that, but it might be enough to provide a basic framework to work from :

• No church will be perfect
• There will not be perfect agreement on every subject
• It is actually good to not agree with everything
• But total(or even majority) disagreement is not a good thing either
• There should be enough elements within a church body which exhibit what we think is important to outweigh the things we don’t
• We should bear in mind that some elements are more important than others
• Determining and weighing those elements is not an easy task

Pretty basic, huh? Those points would have to be fleshed out some but all I’m looking for is a starting point right now. A home base, more or less.

Comments are always welcome.