Did you miss me? It's been three months since I last wrote an email update--a cheeky piece about my irrelevance. The most reassuring response was from my daughter, who said I was still relevant to her. Yeah! (She's relevant to me, too ;-)
I thought it might be good to write a more traditional email, where I update you in more detail about what my (irrelevant?!) life actually includes these days.
First, as I mentioned in July, my wife is younger and more relevant. She continues to engage with international women here in Colorado Springs through an informal organization they call "International Women's Connection." They have various reasons for getting together, including larger monthly meetings with a theme at a friendly local church as well as walks, teas, hikes, Bible and book meetups, and so forth. Her primary coworker recently broke her elbow biking--right before Laura passed the same spot on a separate bike ride. From my perspective, there's a lot of love and meaningful relationship happening among a unique community of people with international connections and backgrounds.
She also does a lot to care for our local grandchildren, looks for every opportunity to see our more distant grandson (still only 100 minutes away,) and is always looking out for her mom, who lives around the corner in the same house with our local grandchildren.
My regularly scheduled ministry opportunities include a small group that has met for more than 12 years and a men's group that has met for some 18 years (I've only been around it for about 12.) Among other things, eating is involved.... Both of these are sourced in and connected to our local church, which we first attended in fall 1991 and have been associated with ever since. I am also on a teaching team for a Sunday morning group called Living Stones that I first visited in 1998 and is now part of the Seniors ministry at the same church. Of course, eating is involved there as well. I just facilitated a session on John 18 and am scheduled to facilitate again next week. (If you're really interested, I could send you the powerpoint notes.) Every time I do this I discover new things I've never noticed before, but I don't really enjoy the pressure of preparation.
Then there are the informal and/or irregular opportunities which may or may not include ministry. Somehow related to this have been various trips over the past months, mainly in Colorado, and often involving hiking, biking, and/or camping. My physical fitness took a big dip with the prostate cancer surgery and is somewhat recovered although not quite what it once was. I have been losing some weight. Laura exercises regularly and is in good shape, but worried about her shoulders and her sleep.
On a more mundane level there have been various home maintenance projects, financial affairs to manage, and rhythms of daily life. We are grateful when these many things are ordinary and not in crisis. Somehow when we got married we failed to check whether one of us enjoyed cooking, yet every day since we have generally wanted to eat. Sharing this load with each other makes it more bearable, and I am still growing in helping to carry this load.
So there you have it. It turns out that eating is still a big part of life in the twilight zone. Thanks for listening to a bit of our story. We welcome your visits, your care, and the chance to hear your stories as well.
Steve
Steve and Laura Spinella
US: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920
mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
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