Life is complicated and at times a burden but life is also a glorious adventure!  And life is brief — the wishes of childhood that time would pass so that we could commence with “it” comes true in spades because it rushes by. From early adulthood on we are fighting a rearguard action  against time who is no longer our ally.

Learning to linger and savor as we go is an important virtue! In the Jewish tradition, there is a notion that the good things one denied ones-self on earth will be denied in heaven. My beloved Bill Stough, the late bishop of Alabama, used to say that he believed that when you got to heaven God would ask, “Did you have a good time?”

That re-frames things for me. This a struggle and yes bad things happen and it’s brief but it is a laboratory of faith and maturity.  Can we improve and can we not recover more quickly next time?  Above all can we not have a good time doing it?  We can choose to enjoy challenge!