August 14
I went to my haircut at 10am. Jaclyn Morgan has been cutting my hair since 2005. In February of 2017 Jaclyn told me she had been diagnosed with a tumor on her lungs. She was 38 at the time. Jaclyn is a really, really good human. She volunteers at her church. She cuts hair and styles for people of little means. She is a good human. Over the past year and a half I have seen her once a month, listened to her progress reports and prayed with her and for her. Chemo. Hair loss. Difficulty working. Today she said that the doctors told her there was not one living cancer cell in her body. She's in remission. Best day ever.
I will say it again, the best thing about the sabbatical has been the people with whom I have come into contact. Whether I have met them for the first time, or because time was not against me I have come to know them better. I've known Jaclyn for many years, but yesterday, I saw tears in her eyes and she saw tears in mine. I will continue to pray because we know that cancer comes back sometimes and we know it comes back with a vengeance. I hope she lives another 50 years.
 |
| A photo of Jaclyn and me from summer, 2013 |
After the haircut I met Rev. Kory Wilcoxson for golf at the University Club. I played at the LTS Scramble the first week of June, but other than that there has been precious little golf in my life for many, many years. I don' think that's healthy for me. Kory has been my sabbatical adviser. He went on sabbatical a couple years ago and I turned to him for advice and direction months ago. For some reason Kory is interested in me and my life and that is the mark of a friend. As we played golf he asked me to talk about the sabbatical; what was best about it -- people; what was worst about it -- having to be a part of two funerals. He is genuinely interested and as the sabbatical is not yet over he offered suggestions for living the last of the days and how to end it. He has been an amazing adviser. I so deeply appreciate him. He's much younger than I but he has been asked to be Moderator of the Board of Christian Church In Kentucky, he serves on an Advisory Team for Week of Compassion and more. He is very well respected among the people of the denomination and rightly so. And he told me yesterday that I had inspired him to start his Doctor of Ministry which he will do this fall at LTS. I don't think that's probably true, but it was nice of him to say.
Kory played very well, He shot a 75 and was one hole away from an under par 9 holes. I, on the other hand, played as poorly as I have ever played and ended up with a 98. Even by my low standards it was awful --- but it was another installment in best day. We had a great time and enjoyed the conversation. More important than the golf any day. Again, more people.
 |
| A great picture of Kory at the Regional Assembly in Hopkinsville in 2014 when he was Moderator |
After golf I met the members of the Bluegrass Mustang Club for dinner at Versailles Brewing Company. This was the first time I had met any of the Club to which I belong. I met a lot of nice people and learned we had some people and church connections. After dinner we all drove, swiftly, to Jack Kain Ford for the monthly club meeting. More people.
 |
| Dinner with Bluegrass Mustang Club |
The meeting of the club stretched an hour and a half. It was fun at first. And then a curious thing happened. The meeting started to go a little long, the President of the Club lost the handle on the meeting a bit, questions got asked, one man made things a little personal and suddenly it reminded me of church board meetings I used to attend (not the ones now). I am really happy I met so many Mustang enthusiasts and got to hear so many Mustang stories -- but I am equally happy that next time the Club meets I will be meeting with my Church Board -- which is an efficient and agreeable meeting.
Here are some obligatory Mustang pictures.
Peace and Love,
Jerry
No comments:
Post a Comment