This afternoon, I arrived here in Atlanta.  I will be meeting with several folks tomorrow to hear their stories before heading off to Savannah. 

            I had several reflections while driving through the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina this morning. 

            First, how thankful I am to the many folks who have enabled me to have this opportunity.  I am humbled by this incredible gift of time that I have received.  I am able to do this, not only because of the generous grant, but more importantly, because so many folks are enabling me to do this.  My wonderful wife Lynn is taking care of things at home for six weeks by herself.  My kids are all making those complicated fall transitions into school, work, and other things without their Dad being physically present.  The staff of Woodlake Church gave me an incredible sendoff on Tuesday, as the whole church did on Sunday. 

            Time away can be such a powerful thing.  I am thinking about how three months ago I was in the middle of General Conference.  It was simply an awful time.  Everybody was fussing over multiple things for two weeks.  At the end of those weeks, we accomplished virtually nothing, despite very high expectations.  At the end of those long days, my friends and I would walk out of the gathering, reflecting upon the battles of the day.  We would often remark that there is a whole world out here that knows nothing of what is happening in Tampa, and frankly, is totally unconcerned. 

            Somehow, remembering that was refreshing…simply because it offered perspective.  The things that had consumed us took on less priority when we moved outside the doors of that coliseum.

            Perhaps that is one of the gifts of vacation and time away.  We have the opportunity to garner a larger experience that restores a reasonable and healthy perspective.  In the larger picture, things that consume us become smaller.  When you think about it, it is also one of the premier gifts of faith.  When things consume us, in prayer and worship, we turn to a God who is not only larger than those consuming things, but also is in control of those same anxiety producers.  In this God, there is an accurate and restoring perspective that in the words of Psalm 46, enables us to “be still and know that (he) is God”.

            This is my prayer for my coming weeks, that I can continue to find this healthy perspective, but more importantly, be reminded of the God who reigns over the church, even within our denominational struggles.

            And speaking of perspective, I thought it might be nice to introduce my driving companion:

            It seems that no self-respecting Methodist pastor should depart and head off for a journey without a John Wesley bobble head…

            As you can see, John and I are looking forward to all the new sites and perspectives as we cross the country!

In Christ,

Pete