At the End of the Weekend.

The End of the Weekend.

The nerds are here, this Sunday night.  It is a good thing because it has driven me out of the house and to a picnic table in the backyard.  My absence from the cool comforts inside means that I will write.

It is muggy out here.  It is in the high 70s F or about 25 C.  The sky is an orange red color facing east.  All day we have received warnings that the weather will turn bad, severe thunderstorms and the like, but so far all we have gotten right here is high humidity. 

I have walked today.  My average daily walk, that is my purposeful walk from point A to point B is about 3 ¼ miles.  My total walking averages just slight above 5.6 miles and sometimes reaching 6 ½ miles a day.  This counts all the walks to and from the dishwasher, to/from the washer and dryer and to or from various miscellaneous tasks.  My average number of hours standing upright for 2 minutes is about 17.  My average exercise is about 40 minutes.  

Today I have done the mundane and the sacred.  There has been one load of laundry washed and dried. There have been two loads of dishes washed and dried.  Also there was an hour spent in evening church.  

Including the pastors, the pianist and the usher (me) there were 17 people.  However, it is the end of summer and August is always sparsely attended, at least in the evening services.  The service was simple, a basic order of worship.  We got down on kneeling pads and asked forgiveness for acts of commission and of omission.  We prayer for justice for the imprisoned and comfort for the ill.  We took the sacraments and sang old times hymns.  

Why do I go, when it is clear from my postings that I ambivalent about the meaning of faith? I go because it calms my spirit to have someone tell me that what I have done to date is forgiven, not forgotten.  I need not bear insurmountable guilt, and I do need to put things right.  Whether you are Buddhist on the mat deep in meditation practice, or a Lutheran or Episcopalian on a kneeler, we need to let the past go and quit worrying about the future.  We have to focus on living in the best, most honest now.

One person asked me about the date of my surgery and for some of the details.  We talked for a couple of minutes.  I did read all the details in the letter received from U of M Hospital yesterday.  Nothing really new except putting down on paper all the dates and ties I have already been told.  And then there were the rules pre-surgery about not eating or drinking and taking medications at least four hours before the surgery.  

Well at 8:45 the dark has pretty much overcome my ability to write.  With this I say good night and offer you my best wishes for the week.  Say a prayer for those suffering injustice.  Think positive thoughts for those facing pain and uncertainty.  So a good word to someone this week.  Uphold the weak. Live the best you can in this moment.