Sojourner's Ramblings

April 1st, today would have been my dad's 71st birthday. Simeon Floyd Bright. I've always liked my last name and I suppose I have him to thank for it. Bright is a fun last name to have...now Simeon on the other hand would have been my name had I been born a boy. Whew, close one! Friends and my mom called him Sim....family called him Sonny. Back in the day when CBs were cool....it was Sonny Boy. My dad grew up with one sister, my Aunt Carolyn...keeper of The Grassy Mountain...our name for their farm, gosh I love that place.

Surpringly enough, I don't know that much about my dad - especially when it comes to facts. He died of a dissecting aortic aneurysm when I was 14 years old...he was 48. I was at that age when the world still revolved around me, and your parents were mostly just people to be embarassed of and make sure you did stuff right. And eventhough I'd spent all the 14 years of my life with my folks, at that time I knew very little about them. You only see them as your parents...like that's all they are, nothing else. Not a husband, a friend, a neighbor, an employee...or heaven-forbid a kid at one point, eventhough they try to tell you that over and over.

I think I managed to inherit my dad's personality and that pleases me. Don't take offense, Mom...but it's like a gift. Dad was an easy-going kinda guy that everyone liked. As I remember, wasn't very social...pretty quiet but I wouldn't really call him shy. Coming more to terms with my own personality, makes me wonder how many of my traits did I actually get from him. I'm overly introverted and I'm tempted to guess he was too. I get my energy from being alone. Not that I don't love being around people, but they drain me and time alone is my way of re-charging. The way my dad would come home from work and sit down to play the organ or go work alone in the garden, I'm guessing he was the same way.

My dad was an affectionate person....always playfully messing with me..."rassling" as he liked to call it. I certainly DIDN'T get that trait from him. I'm about as affectionate and forth-right with my feelings as roadkill, unfortunately. Eventhough I don't remember a lot, I can't count the number of times I remember Dad telling me how much he loved me...and that Jesus always loved me more. I can see and hear that as plain as day...even now.

My dad had a God-given gift for music...another trait I didn't manage to inherit. No matter how much I try - I just ain't got it. But Dad could sit down at his organ and peck out about any song that could go through his head...never reading a note of music in his life. I remember getting Sunday-afternoon invitations to go over to Floyd Stevens' house (music directior at the church we were attending at the time) - his wife would cook us lunch and Dad would play on his organ for the remainder of the afternoon. Hymn after hymn - Floyd loved it! I also remember Dad's long-time friend, Darrell, coming over on Saturday nights toting his accordion and he and Dad playing polka music in the living room. "I don't want her you can have her she's too fat for me...." we used to get such a kick out of singing that song and dancing around the room.

So today, Dad's 71st birthday, I just wanted to share a few memories with whoever took the time to read them. Dad created for those around him, a soft spot in their lives. I hope I manage to learn how to do the same.....

If you're reading this, and you knew my dad, please take a few minutes to comment and share...I've love to read your memories.

Post-script.....I hope to get some pictures soon to add here. If you want to check back later and check them out.

That's something I've had trouble with lately. You can probably tell because it's been over a month since I last wrote anything here. I could blog the daily events of my life but that even bores me! Today I did finally pick my first "crop" of grape tomatoes from my so-called garden. That's been the highlight of my day...see what I mean? However, after listening to the message at church this past Sunday, I was reminded of an email I received several years ago. So I thought...when all else fails...I can share something that someone wrote that inspired me.

A while back I was working my way through a devotional that I'd purchased from The Legacy of a Kid Brother of St Frank. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who strives to lead a simpler life in the example of Jesus, but unfortunately after checking their website I don't see it for sale any longer. Anyway, one of the entries prompted me to email the writer, Alyssa Loukota, and ask for more explanation. In her response, she asked an interesting question...one that has never made it too far from my mind. It's a question that I think is important that we all keep close to our thoughts so I'm going to share it with you. Alyssa said, "Ask yourself, 'Do I love God because He is God or because of what He will do for me?' Loving God because He is means that we are obedient regardless of personal gain." I urge you not to gloss over this question quickly - answering it with the "sunday school answer". Because we all know what the right answer is. But I challenge you to be honest with yourself - you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I was already running late. The last time I'd gone to Steve and Adrian's I was probably an hour late getting there...so this time I was a little bit antsy about being late yet again. Somewhere along State Route 3, I started to see those "men working" signs. "Road work ahead"....then "one lane road ahead"...finally "flagger ahead". The line of cars ahead of me was allowed to pass but since I was tagging a ways behind, mr flagger-man decided to turn his SLOW sign to STOP. After the line of cars ahead of me was out of sight is when I began to wonder just what was going on here. Here I was with mr flagger-man making me even later when the only apparent road work ahead was a single dump truck and a couple men filling holes on the road. Yet I waited....and waited. Everything that I knew about life...and everything that I could see...told me there was no reason to be sitting here waiting. Waiting on what? Nothing it appeared. Why couldn't mr flagger-man just let me go? Yet I waited some more. Eventually, I realized that mr flagger man, not unlike God, knew something I didn't know. He had knowledge of what was around the bend just ahead...out of my sight. He knew there was a line of cars soon coming to meet me and while everything in me told me it would have been completely safe to go ahead, the reality of it was that it wasn't safe at all. Mr flagger-man knew at what exact moment it would be safe for me to proceed. And when that time came....he turned his STOP sign to SLOW and I moved ahead. It got me to thinking about my life. It made me think of the times when I thought I knew what was best and arrogantly moved ahead...and how many times it turned into trouble. And it also reminded me of the times when I've waited...for no explainable reason...but eventually, almost on instinct, moved ahead and how many times the results of that have been so sweet. So, as for me, I'll just keep waiting....waiting on mr flagger-man to tell me when it's time to move ahead. "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one that will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all." ~ The Message

Is it just me....or does anyone else experience a kind of time warp everytime they travel more than 50 miles from their home but stay away less than 48 hours? I recently traveled 285.84 miles (according to Map Quest) from home and when I returned...a mere 26 hours later, I felt like I'd been out of town for days. While driving through the construction on 161 between 270 and my home, I looked curiously trying to see what kind of progress had been made since I left. Then I realized I'd just driven that same stretch of highway just one day earlier....which is more frequent than normal. Are you surprised I didn't see any changes? No...me either! And once, I drove to Dayton (87.80 miles) for a concert and left the dogs at home...unattended. I would only be gone for about 8 hours but it still felt as if I were leaving the poor things to fend for themselves indefinitely. Why? Can anyone explain that? Am I the only weird one here? Please tell me no! :)

Tomorrow...I and 10 others will travel many, many miles to Mexico and we'll be there for 7 days. When I return I will feel like I've been gone forever but probably only because we'll be completely disconnected from the lives we know here. No TV...no newspapers...no computers...no cell service. We're bound to miss something terribly important (I wish there was some way to communicate sarcasm in this blog). I'll be out of town for several days and it will actually feel like I've been out of town for several days....all will be right with the world once again. :)

Have you ever thought about going on a road trip...alone? Not just for the sake of getting from point A to point B...but I real road trip. I'd never really thought too much about it until I found myself in the middle of one recently. Eventhough I spend a good deal of my time by myself, I rarely ever feel like I'm alone. In this land of opportunity - at any given moment I have hundreds of opportunities at my beck and call. There's always something I can run to the store for....always SOMETHING on the television - although rarely anything of any quality....always at least one friend I can call and chat with about nothing....always at least a minimal amount of somewhat interesting information I can look up on the web....since I work at home there's always SOMETHING I can do for a client....home-ownership alone opens up an entire can of constant opportunities....and when all else fails or everything else totally bores me, I go hang out at the Palmers' house. And I live alone! I can't imagine the exponentially huge number of opportunities available to the co-habitational (is that a word?) person.

I busy my mind probably 17ish hours a day - that's 24 minus the 7ish that I get to sleep. This is our way of life - it's a level of activity that I believe is unnatural but we're completely blind to it's effect on us. I remember a while back, one evening, my power went out in the middle of an electrical storm. I was paralyzed! No lights...no tv...no computer....what was I supposed to do to busy myself now?? That was an enlightening experience for me....just how dependent we are on things to busy us. In those rare times when I am still, my mind races like I have ADD. It's probably just a backlog of normal brain activity that has had to wait all day because I'd been occupying my brain with so many other busy things. No wonder we can't hear God's voice anymore. It's not because He's gone anywhere....it's because we've turned up the volume on life - and maybe God refuses to shout over the noise....most of the time. Maybe there are times when God does finally shout over the noise....and even then we ask "Where is God??" out of desperation. In our eyes...He can't win.

So what does all of this have to do with road trips? I don't know the number of friends that have told me they think it's strange that they seem to do their best thinking while they're either driving or in the shower - and I have to agree. I do some of my clearest thinking in the shower....and I've had some of my most profound thoughts while driving. Why is that? Even a long walk doesn't accomplish what a drive can do for me. Does it have something to do with the auto-pilot gear that seems to kick in when we do the things that are so routine to us?...like the routine of a shower or getting ready in the morning....or that drive to or from someplace that we do over and over...day after day? I don't know...I'd have to ask my friend, Adrian. I'm sure she knows. :)

I have become aware that a lonely road trip can be a very powerful thing. I recently drove 5 hours to what I believed was my destination...when in fact, I now believe the 5 hours WAS the destination. And what I believed to be the destination was just a rest stop. I have returned with a clarity I can't explain and I feel the weight of a zillion backed up thoughts are off my shoulders. God spoke so clearly to me about something I was so desperate to hear - would I have heard it in the busyness of my normal day? I'm thinking probably not..... Are you desperate to hear God? Do you fire off a hundred questions a day at Him (sometimes the same question over and over) and feel like he never answers back? Take a road trip...alone..for as long as you can manage to get away. Fill up the tank, find a "destination", TURN OFF THE RADIO, and take a load off of your mind. It's very likely God will show up....and He won't have to shout.

As if it didn't take me long enough to come up with a description for my blog - now I have the pressure of that inaugural entry. Ok...let's just keep it simple. How about a favorite things list? Eh? In no paritular order.....

• Long road trips - alone
• Good conversation
• Wearing a baseball hat
• Camping and camp fires
• Cinnamon ice-cream
• Clean sheets
• 75 degress and no humidity
• Soulful lyrics and good tunes (Mitch McVicker, Rich Mullins, and Bradley Cole)
• Hiking
• And most of all...feeling God move.....

How about you??