Life as a single man again

Well, this summer so far has given me a look at how my life would have been if I had not gotten married. My wife and kids went on one vacation without me, and this week have been gone to a wedding in Iowa and left me all alone. Well, I did have the dogs to keep me company. One thing I can tell you right now is that there would be fewer of those if I was single! I love dogs, but...

With the holiday this week I was simply not able to go to the wedding. I put in quite a few long days and then worked into the late evening before crashing in bed, so I guess it all worked out okay.

People have been asking me if I am enjoying my time alone. I can honestly say that I feel like a part of me is missing when Tammi and the kids are gone. I can get out of the funk when I am out with other people like at work or church, but when I come home there is nothing there but the reminders of what is not there. It usually results in my staying outside until bed or turning on the TV and ignoring everything else.

It is a shame that I do not feel the same way about my spiritual life most of the time. There are times that I have walked away from God and I don't have that close relationship with Him anymore, but I have allowed myself to ignore the feeling of loneliness. I am trying to become more aware of that little voice that reminds me that I have been straying. I have the honor of teaching my Sunday School class, and that is what we talked about this morning.

The lesson centered on Nehemiah 8:1-12. It was about the Jewish people realizing that they had a need for God in their lives. Through building the wall they watched the faith of Nehemiah and the relationship he had with God. I believe this example led to the people wanting to have what he had. The people realized they had strayed and felt guilty about it. They repented and after being encouraged by Ezra they went on to rejoice in the love of the Father. They heard the Word of God and responded by making changes in their lives.

That is the thing I need to get better at. I do a really good job feeding my face, but not a good enough job feeding my spirit. Think about this, how would you like your physical health to be the same as your spiritual health? I am afraid to even begin to think how sick and near death I would be most of the time. I think the same could be said for most of us.

My wife and kids are gone until tonight sometime, but the neat thing is that God is never away from me. He is always right there only as far away as I can push Him - my arm's length. Thank God that His arms are longer then mine though. When I realize my shortcomings and call out to Him He has me in His arms in an instant. I guess you could say that I might be living this week as a single man, but I am never alone.

Well, have a great however long it will be until I write again.