At the end of this year there are things I know more assuredly than I did at the year’s beginning, there are things I doubt more than ever, and things I am grateful for (too many to list actually).
Things I know
– I am more confident than I have ever been about the central claim of the Christian faith – that Jesus was physically raised from the dead. No book has been more helpful to me in reaching this conclusion than N.T. Wright’s huge book, The Resurrection of the Son of God.
– That Anne Rice’s next book, the second volume of her Christ Our Lord trilogy, may be one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. It comes out in March. I’ve probably said too much already.
– That I enjoy writing and talking about faith far more than I do writing and talking about politics. I do the latter because I feel like I should.
– That I can have a great life in the midst of chemo.
– That it is time to focus on writing my next book(s). Were I to get by a bus tomorrow and had time to reflect on my life before passing on, one of my great regrets would be not writing all of the books that are in my head.
Things I doubt
– I doubt I will ever see another great political leader. The process for electing them is so noxious, the pursuit of power for the sake of power so prevalent, our standards so low, that I doubt I will ever see another great political leader – at least not in the US.
– I doubt I will ever see another great family drama on television. That’s a shame. Everything seems to be about glorifying the dark and the depressing and calling it all “cutting edge.” Blech.
– I doubt I will ever read all of Shakespeare’s plays – there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to read five of them (let alone all of them).
– I think, as my 40th birthday approaches, I have to come to grips with the reality that I will never: win the Masters, play in the Masters, pitch in the seventh game of the World Series (to a favorable outcome- preferably), win the Tour de France (though with enough doping anything is possible), play outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers and get paid to hit other people, and front a rock band. It isn’t that I wanted to do all of those things – or most of them – but realism demands I state the obvious.
Things for which I am grateful
– Every day of life.
– Kim, Laura, Rachel, Livvy, and Aidan… and Sam the furry dog.
– New friendships – particularly Anne, Alane, Betsy, Greg, Marcia, Jen, Scott, Andrea, Burns, and Spence.
– Old friendships – too many too mention but especially John, Bill, Drew, Darren, Michael, Frank, Jim, Bart, Jeff, Jon, Martha, Marcie, John, Nina, Dan, Michelle, Russ, Joe, and the family.
– Family.
and on and on and on and on.
Happy 2008 everyone.
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