Audacious

I love storytelling! I have long believed we find meaning in our lives by reflecting on our stories.  With decades of considering the stories of my life; how have I not realize this before:

My typical Alabama family audaciously moved halfway around the world to Bahrain in 1976.

After college, I audaciously moved to Americus Georgia to work with Habitat for Humanity in 1986.

I graduated from seminary and dared to start serving as pastor at Stevenson First UMC in 1996.

David and I went on a daring mission trip to Mozambique in 2006.

I can’t remember much that was audacious or daring that happened in the Childersburg year of 2016.  And it is not yet 2026.

But I have a sense that 2023 is like a “something-something-6" year in my life, because one again, I can hardly believe the daring audacity of what we are doing.

This morning I woke up to the rocking of the boat and was thankful that David had kindly made a cup of Earl Gray for me. I climbed out to the cockpit to enjoy the tea and have a look around.  Joe Wheeler State Park is so beautiful, with natural green forest as far as the eye can see lining both sides of this wide creek off the river.  I don’t want to miss any of it.

A heron was sitting on a no-wake buoy.  I sat and watched the heron. David sat and watched me. If only the heron would have watched David.  But she had her own interests. So we all sat and had a morning watch, until a gentle rain began.

This is officially the fourth day of retirement.  And it feels audaciously daring!