MJ and I made it out to church this morning. MJ was all smiles as she was greeted warmly by Pastor Kerry and many of our fellow parishioners. The church is a booster shot for life. In our new normal of vaccinations and booster shots for Covid we are in dire need of our fellow travelers. I love music. I am a bit addicted to symphony music and jazz. Our new pianist is incredible. The piano has fascinated me since I was a child. For my career as superintendent of Building Services @ Southern Illinois University, I played Symphonic music in my office all day long. When I am listening to Mozart or Beethoven or Debussy I am transported to another place.

We are experiencing our share of potholes due to the winter weather. Life is full of pot-holes. We can be driving along life’s road with not a care in the world…and then the abrupt bump of a pothole takes us off guard. It is impossible to dodge and weave around them all. I reflected on the potholes of my life as I walked the streets of Eldorado yesterday. If it were not for the hope for tomorrow we might get a little discouraged. I thought of the beautiful testimony of the mother of the recently deceased Tyre Nichols. What a demonstrated hope in the face of unspeakable tragedy!

The Bible says that ‘Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.’ We are in a bit of a race with hurdles…and moats…and alligators…and more…

However…spring is coming and the sound of the turtledove will be heard in our land. The resilience of the human spirit is immeasurable. Knock us down and we are similar to the Bozo The Clown Punching Bag that I had in Chicago. I would hit him and he would go down…only to come back up with a large grin on his face. Illness plagues our human family…yet we love life. Reversals of fortune are routine on the rocky road we travel…and yet we seek a better day. When it is the night…we know that morning is coming.

Life is not a sprint it is a marathon. At times the horizon is crystal clear with unlimited visibility we walk forward with the confidence of the protected. Our heads held high and a spring in our step and a song in our hearts. Then the horizon becomes cloudy and a fog rolls in and we can not see what is ahead. Hope is life. We have felt the miracle. We have been a part of the mystery and the majesty. We know that God is unchanging and that he will keep us from falling off the road of life.