Tired

or as they say in some parts of this region outside of the Beltway "taahhhhhhrrrrd." Last night was not a good night for sleep, and today has been chock full of wonderful, difficult, emotionally draining, intellectually challenging stuff.

Just got back from the viewing of the parishioner who died of flu. The parish showed up in force to support the widower. It was wonderful to see their deep commitment to him and to the memory of his wife. I heard some wonderful stories about the gifts and passions of the lady.

His plans for her funeral are incredibly detailed and will probably result in a rather long service, but if it gets him to the emotional place he needs to be, we will accomodate it. The process of planning has been a time of deep meditation for him. Please keep him in prayer as he learns to reshape his life without his best friend of 39 years.

The day was also filled with sermon writing for Sunday, a lunch meeting with a parishioner who is trying to decide where his true spiritual home is, thinking about the adult ed for this coming Sunday, thinking about the brief lectors' training I will want to squeeze in before the adult ed thing, planning my homily for the interview tomorrow night. Right now the last thing is a set of disjointed thoughts with no coherent theme. Ah well, it will be what it will be when I am there among them.

Tomorrow will be a trip up to Johns Hopkins to visit a parishioner who had surgery today, then on up to the Garden State for the vestry interview (meeting the Bishop in the Land of Spong on Friday). I covet your prayers, please, for recovery and a good pathologist's report for this young husband and father, and for safe travel and discernment for us all.

It's your church, God. I'm going to bed now.*

* The nighttime prayer of Pope John the XXIII. Works for me!