Day # 5 - Reconnecting with God, and camping in the great indoors

I can think of no one who would not benefit from church. Before the PC police moves in on me, I am using church as a catch-all. Worship whomever you choose, I won't judge you, but don't think you can do it on your own. You can't. Although I have not always been religious, I have always been somewhat spiritual. Maybe not as spiritual as I should have been, but God has always been a part of my life, even if I made Him pace around the edges, waiting for me to decide to let him in.

This one-year journey I have embarked on in giving me a chance to reexamine my priorities on a daily basis. My focus five days ago was self-improvement. It still is, only it's now much more. Why improve the Me that is of this world while ignoring the Me that will go on? It's like washing a car with a faulty engine.

We went to church yesterday and I felt the spiritual connection to God that has eluded me lately. I listened to songs of praise and worship and could do nothing but close my eyes and cry.

Now, you worldly, moral-relativists might be rolling your eyes about now. Be my guest. I am trying to save myself and it'll be a while before I even think about saving you. I have never been one to engage in public displays of faith. I never raised my hands to the heavens and shouted out praises. I did not do this in church yesterday, either. But as I stood there in the balcony looking at so many who did, I realized I never felt disdain or anything negative for people who were so moved. Rather, I always wanted to be like them.

Some of what I learned yesterday:

God created me (and you) with a plan.
It's never too late to reach your potential.
There is a lot of untapped potential in a graveyard.

These are things I always knew but had never learned. This is where my journey is taking me so far.

Of course, like any good Christian, I must be put through trials. Yesterday, the trial was in the form of retail. I am not a shopper. I think a lot of men are the same. I go into a store, make a beeline for what I need. I know the size, color, brand, etc. before I even leave my house, by the way. I get it, I fly through the store, knocking over displays and innocent civilians on my way to the cash register, and I get out.

Shopping with my wife and daughters is a trial. It is a test of my patience. Believe me, I am an impatient person. I don't have time for instant coffee. I am always in a hurry, even when I have no place to go.

Shopping is not a spectator sport. You have to be in the game. Tagging along with a shopper is not easy if you yourself are not shopping. After church, we went to lunch and my daughter Melissa asked if we can go to the mall. It's not like her. I fear the child is becoming her mother. I wanted a tomboy. I got girly girls. Three of them.

Instead of the mall, we ended up at Super Target, where we spent two thousand years. My patience is constantly tested by my two lovely children touching everything that looks especially expensive and fragile. It is further tested by people who shoot my kids dirty looks. My kids are well behaved. Anyone who has been around them will confirm this. When someone looks at my child out of the side of their eye just because the kid giggles, my father-protector instinct kicks in and I get the urge to jump on the person, break open their skull, and eat their brain.

But I don't. I smile, I take pleasure in knowing that my children are annoying a jackass. Personally, I get a kick out of watching kids playing, their imaginations at work. I see the human potential still left untapped. I feel hope for the future of my country. I see funny little people and I wish I could somehow keep them from losing all those wonderful qualities as they become rigid, jaded, adults, and grumpy old men and women.

If you are in South Florida, you know the temperature yesterday was approximately one billion Fahrenheit. We went from Target to Outdoor World to K-Mart. The mall would have been a better deal as the temperature in the car would reach apocalyptic levels each time we parked it in the sun. No, as a matter of fact, there were no shady spots. All this would be bad enough if we actually did some shopping, but this was just a way of passing the time.

I wanted to go camping. The girls wanted to go camping. Abby did not. From this impasse came the great compromise of Memorial Day weekend 2010. I set up the tent in the living room. Ridiculous? You betcha! Fun? Absolutely. The girls camped with their mother and I got the bed to myself for the first time in ten years.

I guess God rewarded my patience after all!

1st Corinthians 9:25 "All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize."

See you tomorrow.

Adolfo

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