A Quick Look Back

It's a wide range of stuff.

It seems I've covered the entire spectrum of human emotions.

Wickedly funny events were replaced by long, empty loneliness. Heroes unexpectedly arrived from nowhere to save me from hurt and pain. Strange characters screech for cats, drunken bicycles are ridden and church is in a Bar. A gay dog finds a home. Old friends rose themselves from the dead. A Carnival was born just when everyone desperately needed one. Guardian Angels drink, smoke and cuss. Goddess was the singular constant companion through it all. Sarah came home bringing more love than I've ever experienced.

For four years now I've written it all and taking the time to look back as we collect the best for a book reminds me of several things.

Regardless of how good you got it, unexpected and terrible things happen, rocking your faith and changing your world in the blink of an eye.

When they do, you quickly learn who your friends really are ... and just as importantly who they aren't ... and it's shocking to see who is who.

Love is relentless when it comes to you. Those who love you refuse to take no for an answer, find creative ways to insert themselves into your pain and will not go away even when you tell them.

Laughter is more than medicine. It is divine intervention when you need it the most.

Devastating loss eventually leads to a deeper appreciation of who remains in your life and what you have.

Place really does matter and everyone has a Promised Land they're either desperate for or they been blessed to find.

Long periods of silent, reflective thought makes it easier to hear God talk.

Anger, as Frederick Buechner says, is the most delicious of the Seven Deadly Sins! A feast for Kings and Queens until you suddenly realize that what you're eating up is you.

The past has the longest of arms, the tightest of grips and a mean desire to keep you from enjoying the present or make your way toward the future. Only the most courageous of us leave it behind.

These are the things I see when I step back to look at the forest rather than the trees. It's a lush and beautiful place with dark, scary parts, the most beautiful and tranquil of glades, hidden dangers and unexpected friends on its paths.

After this quick respite to see where I've been, I can't wait to continue this journey. It's just been incredible.