The Pause

Rivers have moods.

Terrain, elevation, and climate all affect the flow of a river.  Sometimes it's wide and mellow.  Sweeping, meandering, and even majestic.  

Other times it's narrow, and dangerous.  Full of twists and turns.  Deep canyons, whirlpools, waterfalls, and rocks make the river perilous at best.  Deadly - at its worst.

At times, my life feels like a flowing river.  The current is always moving.  Sometimes, the stretch of river is predictable.  Comfortable.  Manageable.  At other times it can be harrowing - with little sense of control.  In those times, I can feel the angry pull of whitewater - as I "hold on for dear life". 

Since, December 28, 2017, I have been immersed in writing down my story.

It was just after Christmas, and I had a week off.  I decided to "rough out" an outline of my life.  Then, I began to intentionally look for God's purposes that might have been at work shaping me.  In 2018, I started actively chroncialing stories.  I accumulated a gaggle of them.  And, low and behold a primary message began to emerge.  It was "God can be trusted in all of life's transitions".  

In January 2019, I decided to begin telling my stories in a blog - and somewhere along the way, you started getting notified of my posts.  Thanks for reading. 

A funny thing has happened in the last two-and-a-half years.  Life has kept moving.  The story keeps growing.  The bends in the river have continued.  The river has NOT stopped flowing.

Today is September 11.  Many in the United States will pause to remember the tragedy of 9/11.  I find it hard to comprehend that there will be voters in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election who were born after September 11, 2001.  Time has flown.  Another generation has arrived - a generation who did not personally experience the impact of that day.  History has a way of moving along.

Life has a way of bubbling up around us.

As a result, it is time for me to take a little pause from regularly posting my story.  I need to "get out of the river".  Put my reflections "on pause".  Catch up with life.  And, give some attention to the story that is developing in front of me.  

Some exciting things are happening.

There are several coaching projects that I am working on.  For one of them, I am immersed in helping a 95-year-old mom of a fellow life coach chronicle and unpack her story.  It has been fascinating to regularly meet with her.  Hearing the "Reflections in Her Mirror" has been rewarding and in lockstep with my own vision for writing.  I love it.

Also, I've learned a lot about websites and blogging since I started.  I hope to figure out another blog platform before I continue posting.  I am looking for a more streamlined format for future posts that allows for easier following and subscribing.

Lisa or I will notify you when we are restarting.

In October 2020, I turn 66.  With that number, a host of things have crept up that need to be evaluated and attended to.  This includes adjustments to a new normal in caring for my mom.  COVID-19 restrictions have added a new wrinkle for many of us.

So, in order to do all of this, a few things need to come off my plate.  A momentary pause in posting will help.

Just so you know, I am always writing, and hope to start back posting sometime in 2021.

Thanks for bearing with me as I have struggled to "tell God's story in us" - and do it in an interesting and meaningful way.  As I said before, writing the story down has been a deeply spiritual encounter.  I thank God for the times I clearly have seen him at work.  And, I especially thank him for all the times that I didn't see him at work - yet he was still there.

I've learned a lot about myself, God, and his purposes.  I am thankful for Lisa and her part in the story.  I am also thankful that you have been a part of the story as well.

I hope that you will "come back and join us" - down the road.

Blessings,

Randy & Lisa Carr

September 11, 2020 

Photo Credits: 

Top: Image by Sunmo Yang from Pixabay

Second: Image by Alex Hu from Pixabay

Third: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Bottom: Image by stanbalik from Pixabay