Good morning, Lord,
The calendar says it’s still
summer, but we all feel fall in the air.
Leaves are already blowing through our yards. School has begun and football has us excited. We’re more than half way through another
year. It’s been a good year so far! Thank You for the wonderfully mild winter we
enjoyed. Spring was incredible as
farmers got their seeds in the ground a little earlier than usual. Summer was hot – just the way we like it. And now our fuel bills get a break as we
don’t have to run our air conditioners.
Living in our area is a pleasure as we get to experience four fairly
equal in length seasons (well, winter could be a little shorter!)
And through it all – You’re
faithful! You are the Master Designer
behind all of this wonderful creation!
We marvel at Your precision and delight at Your creativity.
THE SEASONS OF LIFE MIRROR YOUR CREATION!
Spring
Oh, how I enjoyed the spring
of my life! Like so many others, I ran
and played and was carefree as my parents accepted all of the
responsibility. I learned and grew and
stretched and abounded in energy and curiosity!
Fortunately for me, I did so in a safety zone that my parents
established with guard rails that helped me avoid a lot of the painful and
dangerous experiences of life. I chose
to adopt the principles and values that they had modeled for me and those
values travelled with me into the summer season of my life!
Summer
Summer was independence and
freedom! Finally, after the stressful
period of adolescence, I was able to direct the course of my own life. My parents were still there to consult, but
this was the season of fun, major decisions, developing skills and advancing
education! It was surely an adventurous
time!
One of my best decisions was
marrying Debbie! Everything changed after
that! Your ‘call’ on my life was another
major course-correction! Early summer
found us moving frequently and clearly leaving the nests where we had each been
established. Kentucky seemed so far away
from our homes back in 1973. Even
long-distance phone calls were rarely made due to the expense of doing so!
Then, our family began to
arrive: Travis (1976), Troy (1980) and
Tracie (1981). I made $100/week at my
first church! The only government support
we ever accepted was during those early years when WIC [Women, Infants and
Children] provided milk, eggs and cheese!
The responsibility of raising children was fun, but demanding. Our finances – already tight – were stretched
to the limit! But our joy was full and
our partnership as parents was developing experience and purpose!
Summer was a long
season! Raising our family, gaining my
education, and establishing myself as a pastor with experience dominated this
period. Keeping our balance and
surviving the strains on our marriage took perseverance and focus! Our greatest enemies during this season were
financial distress and my own personal struggle with depression. I actually had a burn-out episode during this
season when I quit everything for almost four months while living in East
Liverpool! But God, You were faithful
and turned it into the only real miracle that I attribute to my life! Thank You!
I’m not really sure when
summer drew to a close and fall began. I
suppose it was the season when our three T’s began leaving the nest and launching
into their own ‘summers’. Our role as
active parents was coming to a close.
However, You raised new challenges for us as we engaged with the Shelter
Care Social Serving Agency, the Akron Cornerstone Church and later, the Free
Methodist Community Church in New Middletown.
Debbie’s work at the Springfield Elementary School with Cindy Marchese
was an extremely fulfilling time for her.
The greatest thing to happen
for us during these years was retiring our burdensome debt that had caused so
much of my depression! By diligent
adherence to a plan and God’s abundant provision for our family, we reached our
goal in a mere eleven years! Hallelujah! Debt is gone FOREVER! Thanks be to God!
The awards and rewards that
resulted from leading and participating in growing churches were
fulfilling. But You weren’t finished
with us yet!
The next three years were
invested by living and working in Changchun, PRC for three years! A book would be needed to describe the
amazing and life-expanding experiences of that adventure! New friends populated our lives! Students endeared themselves to us by their
kindness and love for life! You enabled
us to see fruit for our labor, for which we will be eternally grateful. We would not surrender those years for
anything! They are a treasure to
us!
Fall
I suppose that’s about when
our fall season of life began. Although
I pastored for nearly two years at Kittanning, doing so as a
commuting/part-time pastor was too much of a limitation!
It was about this time that
we experienced the greatest loss of our lives – Travis died! It knocked us down pretty severely! Debbie retired almost immediately. I retired at the end of the next year. During this interim period, we lived in a
small trailer on the Whippo farm. We
were comfortable, but knew that we wanted to establish a real retirement
home. We found an opening in Heron Woods
and carved out a shelf overlooking two beautiful, small lakes. Our manufactured home was delivered after
significant clean-up and preparation.
Then came two years of building a two-car garage with Troy – one of the
greatest joys of my life! Landscaping
and sowing a lawn also kept me busy.
This was followed by five
years of being a Lyft driver. God gave
me a vibrant and creative ministry in this role. Losing that job thrust us into living on our
retirement income [there’s a story behind this – ask me sometime!]. We made the necessary adaptations and did
fairly well.
Then, in February of 2024, I
was called back into ministry as the interim pastor of The Foundery Free
Methodist Church in Wellsburg, West Virginia.
It has been a rewarding experience and I hope I have helped the church
as it now prepares to embrace a new, full-time, pastor! A little piece of my heart will always be
invested in these wonderful and accepting people!
So, we consider ourselves to be in the late fall season of
our lives now. Winter is coming – we
know that! Our major accomplishments
have probably already been realized. Our
love for one another deepens almost daily – it seems. We thoroughly enjoy being together! We serve one another and enjoy every
day! We love our family and treasure the
times when we can be with them. We take
enormous joy from the fact that they are serving the Lord! We celebrate their accomplishments with pride
and joy!
Debbie is still making major contributions by being a session member and library director at Bethel Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Enon Valley! She is deeply appreciated at this church and we have developed great affection for the people there! She also enjoys regular fellowship with four of her sisters [Janie lives in Connecticut]. Two brothers and three sisters also attend Bethel, so every Sunday includes some reunion! Deb also reads! Her love for historical books and novels propels her from book to book. I absolutely love walking into the house and ‘catching’ her sitting quietly in her chair with a good book and a cup of tea! 😊
In another week, my patterns will change
significantly! No more three-hour round
trips to Wellsburg.
I long to return to extended mornings in my home-study,
reading the scriptures and writing my own personal summary of the Bible! I have a list of projects that I’ll be
attacking as well. I hope to reduce the
boxes of files that I’ve accumulated over forty-three years of ministry. There are photos to organize and scrap books
to make. There’s a coin collection that
I inherited from my mother that needs to be dealt with. I have backpacking gear galore that needs to
be given away.
Then, of course, there are home projects and yard work that
will keep me busy.
Winter
Winter does not cause us fear! We’ve always loved winter and now that it’s
our final season we’re fine with that!
We’ll use our influence to bless our family, neighbors and church. We’ll keep each other warm and serve one
another as long as we can. We’ll seek to
be wise in the deployment of our time and resources. We’ll love people and try to invest in them strategically and generously.
We each have aches and pains. Arthritis has finally become my travelling
companion. These once-young bodies have
some miles on them now. But our minds
are still active and functional [with occasional blips for both of us]. Our passions are still vibrant.
When the Bible says that “…your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;” [Acts 2:17 KJV] I have come to believe it
is right! I’m an old guy now, but my
passion for ministry is still strong. I
have dreamed for years of planting a church.
But I wonder if I could negotiate something so vigorous? I have three enemies:
1. My major hearing deficit!
2. My high passion is unfortunately accompanied by a
lower level of energy than in previous seasons of life!
3. My seemingly increasing inability to pull up
words and details with efficiency.
We’ll see what God has in
store, but I suspect that most of my ministry and time will be invested in the
seclusion of my writing, meditating and study carrel. And that’s okay with me!
But the greatest comfort for
both of us is the reality that we have held to throughout our lives. Even when our winter season draws to an end,
it is always spring in Narnia! We hope
to see you there, friends!
What a full God centered life you are living! I'm sure you will have many jewels in your crown to throw at the feet of our savior. I have missed hearing your deep voice as you share your thoughts and the beautiful view that you have from your window. I know God will continue to use you and bless you, and that is the same prayer that I have for Larry and me.
ReplyDeleteHal Haire
DeleteThank you! The anonymous post always makes me wish that I knew who was communicating with me! I do hope to return to publishing audio posts again! I enjoy doing it and others seem to enjoy listening. I'm also hoping to create audio versions of my novels. Your kind words blessed me! Hal Haire
DeleteLove reading your blogs. I really miss you & Debbie so what is wrong with me- -you don't live that far I
ReplyDelete/
Thank you, Anonymous! :-) Contact us and stop by sometime! Hal Haire
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