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Last week a friend of mine asked if I could drive him down to Calgary.  The ride is four hours one way. 

The reason?  To get an MRI.

So, tomorrow I head off in the morning and will be back in the later evening.

In some ways, this is variety — which is the spice of life.  I will be away from most of my regular day’s activities.  I can be reached by cell phone, but don’t expect exceptional activity there.  I will take books to read related to work, but as much as I get read is what I get read.  All in all, I’ll enjoy this.

And as a side light, I get to watch he beauty of the prairies as they blossom from spring into winter.  From the flat prairie, to the gullies of Drumheller to the distant foothills one can see from Calgary.  That’s the side blessing!!

There are skies that impact you subconsciously.   They create emotions you don’t realize until you are rummaging around in the cupboard for comfort food, or gathering your sunscreen for protection.

The days I find awkward are those where the sky is split and the wind both whispers and whips. 

Today began with those sunny skies and calm winds.  I was ready to walk the around town.  Then the grey began to descend and the breezes increased in velocity.  I was ready to stay inside and hunker down in my reading chair.

And I hear it may snow tonight somewhere in this beautiful province called Saskatchewan.

Who wouldn’t want to live here!!

Yesterday ushered in 4 1/2 hours of yard work. The exhilarating thing was that I went without much of a break – a few gulps of water, but pretty much steady work. Compared to last year at this time when I had to watch my wife clean up the yard, this is a higher plane!

The work to be done was simple. Dethatch the grass, rake up the clippings and cut down some branches off the willow in our back yard. I keep forgetting to wear a mask, so I could taste the grit of the dust gathering in our drought stricken land.

Since spring arrived, we have not had a steady downpour of rain. A few cloudbursts, but no gusher. So today will see some watering of the lawn.

Then we will await the miracle of growth!

In my eagerness, or stupidity — one or the other — I have chosen to translate from the Greek the passages I will be preaching on in the next two months.

This evening I sat on our sunlit porch and for an hour worked over 4 verses.  The final product is somewhat simplistic — I’ll hone it during the week.

What I found unexpected was that I had fun.  Not since my days of seminary (over 20 years ago) have I done such extended translation.  Flashes of those days came back in an instant.  The thrill of finding just the right English expression to capture the intent of the Greek.  The frustration of parsing verbs — thank goodness for analytical lexicons.  The joy of finding the core thoughts in a sentence.

Some people think I enjoy words.  And that is true.  But my real enjoyment is to find a way for words to form together in such a way that they open our eyes to a new perspective.  Not necessarily a new truth.  But a new way of delving into the truth!

And that brings joy!