Mín Englisc Blog

Since I last posted, I've been really busy. My family came here on Monday, picking me up to go on Tuesday morning to a long-schedulled appointment in Cleveland. The appointment went quite well, as the surgeon was quite pleased to read and hear all that we had for him. I'm now off my only big surgery-related restriction: no lifting more than £10, and no significant exercise.
My big activity involved significant exercise: after classes, I went downtown to the Providence Care Center, a nursing home at which I'm spending some time weekly in connexion with my sociology class. While I'm scheduled to visit there on Monday evenings, I had been unable so to do (see first paragraph) and went instead this time, planning to ride back with the other students who are working there on Wednesday afternoons. Due to the weather, however, they weren't there, and I ended up walking back to campus most of the way (from 15th St. to 32nd St., plus some east-west walking), up the hill and through the snowy/icy mix. I got through fine, but I know I couldn't have previously. I definitely hope that there aren't any confusing transportation issues with my Monday group :-)

Micah preached yesterday from [passage forgotton], looking at the Bible's strong emphasis on the unity of the church: his point from the readings was our responsibility to seek to be one with other Christians, both within our congregation and without.
Yesterday, both at church and elsewhere, went better than previous days. I was told that I might not feel the best mentally after surgery, as well as surgery, as the brain gets used to having part of itself missing, and recently I have been having some difficulty. However, yesterday went blessedly well :-)

Sorry for no posts all week — although I've had trouble getting back into the schoolwork mode, I'm finally getting there. Because I'm beginning to be able to work, but not yet entirely "normal", I'm not having much time to post — or very much itneresting to repeat.

End of the week, and a new experience for me — being on campus on the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In all three previous years, I've been gone, as the CYA Winter Conference is held this weekend, but I thought it best to stay at school and rest somewhat. By last week, I was feeling like I could go, but it was too late to register by then. Our house provided six conferees (out of thirteen residents), which if I understand rightly is a much larger percentage than it would have been in previous years, as the Geneva attendance is down significantly (even though most people haven't had brain surgery :-) from the past two years. I really wish that I could be there this weekend — apparently I'm already getting tired of Beaver Falls, because I really want to go somewhere (anywhere). However, because I didn't know several weeks how I'd be doing now, I know I made the right decision, so I don't regret anything. Thanks to God for making me put health above something rather transitory!
I also rejoice at the meaning of some of my non-conference-related disappointment: for some weeks, I'd been altogether comfortable by myself for extended periods of time, and I had recently worried that the surgery had changed my personality to make me feel like isolating myself. Mild loneliness, therefore, is a good sign: it's uncomfortable, but it means that I'm getting back to normal!
All this reminds me of something said by a man I knew when I was little, the now-retired pastor of the Presbyterian church in Belle Center. He spoke of and gave thanks to God for the blessing of dirty dishes: yes, they're a problem, and we have to bother to clean them, but people without food don't have dirty dishes. It's the bounty of God that enables us to have food to put on our dishes that we must then clean.

Finally posting after nearly a week...
This week has been interesting — joyful to see friends, engaging and busy to begin classes, somewhat mournful to attend a funeral, and tiring to attempt to continue recovery. On Monday, I attended the funeral of Mrs Dottie Carson, whose husband Dr Jim Carson is a retired RP minister — although of course a funeral is somewhat of a sad time, it's times like these that I'm glad that Geneva is rather near the center of the RPCNA, as I'm able to attend even the sadder events. As Dr Carson's cousin Norman read statements by closer family members, it was joyous to hear an echo of Proverbs 31, as her children did indeed rise up and call her blessed. The sermon, preached by the Rev Ken Orr, tied together all elements well in order to present the gospel clearly — which in short I think is the best approach, focusing on Christ from the point of view of the faithful departed one.
Since the funeral, I've not been feeling the best: I've gradually been feeling slightly weaker and slower, and I've felt slightly depressed. However, I'm thankful to remember what I was told before suregery: of course it would take plenty of time until I was fully recovered, and depression of a sort was highly likely. Because only now do I feel it, because I know what causes it, and because I'm well aware that it's temporary, it's far easier to experience — I need only stop and think to realise that my emotions are being unreasonable and that they should soon be back to normal. It's great to know why something is happening and that it will be gone soon. And in the mean time, I guess I rely more strongly on Christ than I would otherwise.

Physically speaking, I'm somewhat weaker than at this time last week, but there's no need to worry. When I was at home, I never was outside for a long time; I only walked to get the post office once or twice — and that was in weather that was well above freezing, as opposed to weather below 0ºC! You know, even when you try to relax and rest, if things are going on in which you must participate, and you can't avoid doing something extra at some times. I'm looking forward to being healed from this :-)

Moved in and (somewhat) ready for classes to begin. It's hard to believe that this is my final semester...
Church today was good: Micah preaching from [can't remember the reference] the story of the woman who poured the valuable perfume on Jesus. Attendance was lower than usual, with several non-students (including at least one entire family) missing, likely due to weather, although I know that some people are currently ill. I was one of two students, although I've seen three other students that arrived this afternoon or this evening. I don't know anything about this evening, as I decided not to go in order to rest myself more — I was almost falling asleep during the service.
Both at church and at Titus Martin's house tonight, I was glad to see plenty of people who knew a bit about everything with my head but wanted to know more. It's great to be back and to see people face-to-face: "I have much to tell you, but I would rather not use pen and ink", to misquote one of John's epistles.

All packed and ready to go — classes begin Monday, and we're leaving today for Pennsylvania. We're to be staying at my grandfather's tonight, and going to campus tomorrow.

Yesterday was Isaac's birthday — hard to believe that my little brother, whose birth I remember, is now legally an adult! Not to mention being my height and greater than my strength: he's not exactly "little" brother anymore, except in age :-)
Tonight I ate the last of a jar of green olives (not a ton; there were only three left), which I really enjoyed: aside from the fact that I like green olives a lot, I enjoyed them more because they don't have green olives at Geneva. The idea of finishing the olives reminds me of a time when I was rather little: after Mom came home from shopping, having bought a jar of green olives, I went rather crazy. That evening, my parents began to fear that something was seriously wrong with me, perhaps that I was going into some sort of diabetes, because all I was doing was either (1) drinking something, or (2) going to the bathroom. For this reason, they were happy when they discovered that the problem was "only" that I'd eaten over half of the olives — I remember that it was rather odd that they were happy that I'd eaten more than I was allowed to eat :-)

This evening was Isaac's final troop meeting as a Boy Scout — he'll be too old to remain a Boy Scout by the next meeting.

I actually stayed awake for the morning service today: I didn't have to take my pillow and sleep downstairs a short time into the sermon! That being said, I was really sleepy (I remember virtually nothing of Dad's sermon, from Isaiah 7), and I slept rather than participating in the class hour. In the evening, I was able to remain awake and alert the whole time, as Dad preached from the end of John 17.
What's funny is that this is rather the opposite of what I tend to do at Eastvale: although I never have trouble with being asleep in the morning service, it's not that rare for me to fall asleep or nearly fall asleep during the evening Bible study. I don't know why, but so often I find myself very sleepy even though I've not felt at all tired otherwise earlier in the day and though I am able to remain awake without difficulty until my normal bedtime.

Today has been a good conclusion to a good week. I received good news tonight of the Eastvale congregational meeting held this week: I don't entirely understand everything, but I'm sure I will soon.
To think that in one week I'll be back in Beaver Falls: this break seems to have gone rather faster than it should have. Admittedly, I've been rather busy, having that hole put in my skull and all — you know, all that time in Cleveland got in the way of doing what I'd normally be doing. However, this break has gotten something done that I'd really needed to have done, with that hole in my skull, and I'm really thankful how it's all turned out. Now if break could only go a week or two more :-) At any rate, it will have been nearly a month, so it's not as if this Christmas break has been really short.

Eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours left until next year. Happy new year!