In response to a teacher friend of mine who asked the question, “what inspires you Jon?” I offered the following answer. I walk into my downstairs office. Closing the French doors, I light a stick of incense and sit down. I close my eyes and take some deep breaths. It is then I am reminded that I am surrounded on three sides by walls of books and other sundry items. The fourth wall is a very large bay window looking out into my neighborhood. As I turn my chair to the left, the books on that wall form an eclectic collection of titles. Dictionaries, WordPress resources, biblical and spiritual resources, books written by some of my favorite authors, and “how to” books fill those shelves. Also on those shelves are artifacts and gifts given to me by family and friends to remind me of a particular person or moment in time. Chief among those treasures is an oversized hour glass full of sand, a thirty-minute supply, that a parishioner gave me to use as I rehearsed my weekly sermons. This good natured gift was to remind me that when the sand had run out I should stop talking. Every time I turn it over, all I think about is the Wizard of Oz. When the Wicked Witch’s hourglass was empty… On the shelves, there are pictures of my favorite fly fishing spots in Colorado and Wyoming and even a few pictures of fish I actually caught. Every once in a while, I must show proof of the veracity of tales that I tell.
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The Power and Promise of Hope