Apprentice2Jesus

I begin writing this during my sabbatical in August 2010. I will leave it in draft mode until I return to officially blogging in September, and it may never reach the light of day, but I wanted to think about some things I hope people remember about me.

This has come on because I have returned from the funeral of a 35 year old single mom. She died tragically after leaving rehab a few weeks before. It is not known just how she died, but watching two young kids weep over the loss of a mother, and hearing things said about this young life gone, I have wanted to put some things down.

First of all, I don’t want to “open the floor” for people to talk about me at my funeral. 1. I fear there will be dead silence because people can’t think of anything good to say, or 2. they’ll only say stupid things.

That said, I want to reflect on what I really want people to know about me.

First of all, I’m a baseball nut. I have been in love with the game since I can remember anything. I have no idea why. It’s still my favorite sporting event to attend. I had the misfortune of growing up Kansas City, so the Royals are deep inside my bloodstream. I lived the glory years of George Brett, Hal McRae, Freddi Patek, etc. (Frank White is still the best defensive 2nd baseman I’ve ever seen play the game.)

While I’ve worked hard to shed the bad blood of KC, cheering for the Twins (my new hometown for the past 12 years), etc., I confess I still read about the Royals online all the time. I keep hoping beyond all hope that maybe… just maybe…

Along that line of miserable favorite teams, I must mention I grew up in KC, so I’ve always been a Chiefs fan. I’ve also been a lifelong Vikings fan. Neither team has won the Super Bowl or even been to it since I was a kid. My streak continues.

Staying with the theme of sports, KU Basketball is my great love as well. Roy Williams, though he went back to North Carolina, is still one of the great coaches of all time in my book. KU winning it all in 1988 and 2008 is enough. I can’t wait until they win it again in 2028. Hopefully I’ll be able to buy a ticket to the Final Four by then!

I want people to know I love pastoring and teaching. I’ve been in ministry all of my adult life. I’ve known failure and I’ve searched for other things, and thought maybe I was supposed to do other things, but nothing is more deeply satisfying than being a pastor and teacher. They are great joys for me.

I want people to know I am crazy about my family. December 28, 2009 marked my shift into middle age. It was that quick and that stark. And I’ve enjoyed it, quite frankly. That day was Jared’s 15th birthday. He is our youngest. Joshua, my oldest, had just asked his girlfriend to marry him. We went out to a nice restaurant that evening. I sat with my family and was in awe. My oldest son had his fiance. My middle son had his girlfriend. My youngest was 15. My wife looked fabulous. Here we were celebrating life at a restaurant without a playground or video games. We had adult conversations. Life shifted dramatically that night.

I celebrate the lives of my boys. They do amazing things. Through frustrations and all, I have no complaints. I am a grateful man.

I celebrate a time where the boys are gone more and I get more time with my wife. She is an amazing lady and getting more of her makes me happy. Hopefully she’ll get used to me being the only guy around!

These are not life changing, earth shattering announcements. These are simply things I’ve reflected on after a funeral. I really want people to know things about me. I don’t want them guessing.