Forgiveness? Yes! Closeness? Maybe.

Last month, I had a big birthday in my life.  It was big because of the number.  Yes, I am now 60 years old.   When I came to this church I was early 40’s.  Look what you’ve done to me!  When having a birthday, it’s customary to wish the birthday person a “happy birthday.”  But this time, the happy birthdays were accompanied by some unusual gifts.   Here’s one.  It is a cup or mug.  On the side it says, “Weird being the same age as old people.”   Here’s another one.  It’s a cup coaster.  It says, “60 is not old if you are a stone.”  Very comforting.  But perhaps most creative and disturbing is this one.  It’s a stick with some dentures attached to it.  Thiis comes from a guy who is now a denturist from a church I previously served.  The label says on one side. “Scratcher 3000.”  On the other side it says: “This is a rescue denture.  It was rescued from a funeral home and ultimately, the landfill.   Thank you for reducing, reusing and recycling this otherwise now useless product.”  Lori was disturbed by this thing laying around in our house.  She wanted it out of our house.  So I was thinking of just hanging it in the foyer to make a community back scratcher.  We’ll see.     But it is important to pause and celebrate because there are plenty of hard times in life that can sap our joy.   I suspect that many of you have experienced some anxiety or discomfort over the past couple of weeks because of the resumption of school and work.  The vacation season is over for most of us.  We have to get back to reality.  Sometimes, reality is hard to face.  Yet it is possible to experience some joy even during life’s hardships.