The Day after....

For the last 5 months or so, I have been looking forward to September 17th. This was the day I was to resume preaching. As the day approached, I had more anxiety than I exepected. The reason was that I did not know what to expect. Would I be 'presentable?" Would the added stress of speaking before 400 people twice in one morning send my word processing into orbit? How would people respond? How tired would I be?

It all went well. I earnestly prayed that God would take the efforts and make some sense of them, and get me through it without falling down, or passing out. God gets an A+ on all three.

The people of the church were so good. The "welcome back" song ( from the show Welcome Back Kotter) was a nice touch. It surprised me, but it should not have... sound guys have all the power. The only problem with it was that only people 35 and older would have known what the song was!

I finished first service, and walked to the back of the stage. There, I sat, and started to cry. Sobbing kind of crying... It was the emotion of the last 5 months just pouring out. They were tears of joy. They were tears of fatigue as well. I was so tired. Pam whisked me home for a 20 minute nap. A bananna and some Peanut Butter helped my energy level and then I was ready to tackle it again

Second service was different. About 1/2 way through, my energy level was quickly diminishing and I could literally feel that I was running out of gas. The message was too long to begin with. Then when the wave of fatigue hit me, I was trying to get out of the sermon as quick as possible.

I went back afterwards and waited for Pam. By then I was wasted, totally out of gas... My best friend came back, looked at me and said, "Go home!" That is what I did. I went straight to bed and woke up somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00.

Yesterday was a big step. But it was not the end point. I still exercised alot yesterday ( morning and evening) I still got up this monring and headed to the Owasso Fitness Zone. And I came to the office for a bit. I determined long ago that while September 17th would be a big day, it was not the finish line. So I continue to strive to get better, get plenty of rest, workout each day and eat right... and work on the next sermon. That last line sounds so good.

I will be back Sunday with Lessons from the Desert.... Church edition. I learned alot about churches during this time.

The day after really becomes "the day before..." for me. As long as God will, I will look forward to tomorrow too.