An Admission

I must admit that there have been days since we began this journey in January that I have read the daily passages just to get them done.  There!  I said it.  I'm not proud of that admission, but at least it's out in the open.  I must do better than that.


Last week at the Congregational Christian Council of Maine spring meeting, we looked at several issues with these questions in mind: What did you like?  What surprised you?  What challenged you?  What did you learn? This morning as I read of difficulties that both David and Paul are experiencing, I thought of those questions.  Might they be good guidelines for us to use as we work our way to next December? Because what we bring to this blog is so different from person to person, the answers to those questions will also be different, but none of them can be wrong.  Sharing will be hard sometimes...but I think we can do it!


So, here I go...I liked Acts 20:8 "And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together."  I can imagine this little band of followers seeking the way together into the dark hours of the night.  I can imagine their conversations, their questions, and their discussions.  Notice I am omitting the scene that happened from Paul's "long preaching."


I am surprised at David's flight before Absalom.  The King David we have been reading about was ready for battle most of the time; his behavior here makes me stop and think.  I am challenged, and this isn't a very theological answer, mind you, by the catalog of names and places in Acts.  Will I have to know these people, these cities, to understand something later or am I just reading the itinerary of Paul's trip? 


What did I learn? I come from these readings with a view that sees a human side of David and Paul...both are "leaving;" both experience loss.  David is preparing for the wilderness; Paul is preparing to sail.  How will God be with them in the days ahead?  How can I use their situations to help me as a pastor, a daughter, and a mom?


I plan to write these four questions on my reading list; may they be a reminder to me as I read and listen.  I hope they help you.