Morning October 30th, 2014 One year ago today I taught for the last time in my career. I drove to see a few students and came back to the office. My fellow teacher and friend Wanda retired on the 31st, one day after me. Wanda and I were treated to a wonderful meal at Five Sisters, a local southern food restaurant. Just like that, nearly thirty-seven years of teaching came to an end. In just a few days I would board an aircraft in Pensacola and fly to Atlanta, change planes for another aircraft flying to Puerto Rico. There we would board the Carnival Valor and sail overnight to St. Thomas USVI, the first of five islands we would visit during the cruise. So begins the end of the beginning of this journey. Now the beginning of the rest of this journey is at hand. I can tell you that stress is palpable both for myself and I have a feeling for Shirley and Ed. I do not want to do this walking; the rest of this journey. I do want to get through all of this and I have no doubt that I will make it. I don’t have any words to weave together that are inspiring or in any way worth remembering. This is just one day after another of memory after memory rising up and I will get through each one of the memories. I might be on my knees sometimes. I might be worn to the brink, but I will get through this. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7 John 15: 7 comes from one of the moments Jesus taught the disciples about how to live in God’s light. Jesus was referring to the vine and the branches of a grape vine. Just as a vine is pruned to produce more fruit, so does God help those that remain in His word to be more productive and secured in the promise of eternal life. The way I will make it through the next few months of this journey is to redouble my efforts to stay close to God. I must remain in the word, practice being in the word and pray for God’s will to lead me through this journey beyond the memories and to the promise God has made to anyone that believes in Him. You see, if I am a vine that is attached to the main branch I will be closer to the source of life in that vine. Later in chapter 15 Jesus tells the disciples that if they can stand in the world and not shrink they will no longer be servants, but friends. The key to making it through all that is coming is to remain in the word. What is so incredible about all of this to me is that Jesus tells the disciples just how powerful they will be, just how much fruit of the vine they could produce. In all of this we may choose to be a Christian or not be a Christian. Once we do that, the rest of the choices are God’s. He decides what is to happen and that is for each of us to further the word of God. A friend is someone that knows much more about another friend and unlike a servant, a friend is willing to go to the mat for another friend. Jesus said that in clear words. See: 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15: 13- 15 If you are a Christian, each of us have a commonality that binds us to each other even if we have never met. We are friends through Christ and if we were to meet and get to know each other there is an awesome truth that grows between us. We become kindred vines growing from the same branch. When I was in the hospital part of what kept me from failing to do what I needed to do were the prayers that came our way just from the writing in this same journal a year ago. There were people writing from just about every state in our country. There were prayers sent from the Middle East in countries that would have condemned the individuals that sent their prayers and love to all of us. There were prayers from Indonesia from Australia, Brazil and I could go on and on and on. My point? The branch is so much larger than we can imagine and the vines that are attached to that branch grow where there are few that would even believe in Jesus and our loving Father. I will make it through this and so will my family. We will make it because of the word. We will make it because of other Christians and friends we know here. We will make it because of people I have never met and yet they are friends through Christ. Jesus said to ask for whatever I wish and it will be given. I ask exactly what I asked every day in Birmingham. I ask for the will of God to be affirmed in my life. There is nothing else for me to do except to praise God for the constant joy amid all the difficulty. That is because God is good, the good, and the only good. Papi
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 10:45:00 +0000