At the end of every semester I am reminded of just how crazy things get. The last two weeks of the semester and the two weeks afterwards are absolutely ridiculous. I do nothing but grade and teach, literally, from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. The intensity is overwhelming, and I usually do not deal with it well. Most years I work myself to the point of exhaustion, then get sick. Last year was the worst; I got Shingles. In case you don’t know, Shingles is like the second coming of Chicken Pox. I speak with authority when I say that everything bad that you’ve heard about Shingles is true. I was in debilitating pain for two months; it wrecked my summer. The doctor said my immune system was weak. This year has been the same in regard to intensity, except this year I have had to deal with the resignation of my position at VFCC, possibly one of the most difficult decisions of my life. Added to this, after finals I taught a one-week intensive class in New Testament Theology for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Now I am in the throws of getting our house ready to be put on the market so that we can sell it and move to Springfield, MO, this summer. For Sue and I this will be the most difficult summer of our 28 years together. I am praying that I do not have my annual crash.

All of this sounds like I am complaining, I’m not. I have, however, come to one definitive conclusion … life does not get easier; it will always be exhausting, the difficulty always rising to the level of your ability to deal with it. Instead of hoping it will change, I realize now that I have to learn how to deal with it. It won’t change, I must. I wish I could say that I knew how to do that. There are some pressures that are avoidable, but some are not. I have the problem of determining which are which. It’s at this point where I am suppose to list the nuggets of truth that I have discovered in determining ways to avoid unnecessary pressures. Unfortunately, I usually find out what these things are after the fact, and much of the time I could never have known beforehand what they were! Then I look back and I say, “sheesh, I spent so much time toiling over that and it made no difference at all!� It’s sort of like all the time I spent in front of the mirror fixing my hair in jr. high—little good that did.

I can say that most of the things I fret over usually don’t happen. The money works out; the worst-case scenario usually does not happen; the kids have the flu not meningitis, etc., etc. In other words, the sky does not fall.

I have a summer ahead that will push to the limit. So, where will I spend my time and effort? I have made three decisions: First, I need to make sure that my family is doing well with the move. They are as much a part of the move as I am. Much of how they feel is determined by my attitude. Second, I need to be productive. I have a tendency to procrastinate and allow my overwhelmed state to cause paralysis in my activity. I can’t do that, not this summer. Finally, but not least, I need to quit thinking that for things to work out this summer it’s all up to me. There are lot of people who are willing to help, my wife Sue is working very hard, and lots of people are praying for us. For this I am very thankful. I'll be sure to let you know how things go.