By Dr. James Snyder
After about three months of wrestling with a variety of bug thingamajigs, I ended up with a case of acute bronchitis. Believe me; it was not really cute at all.
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I, during that time, competed in a coughing and sneezing contest. Unfortunately, she won the contest. Now, as a result of her winning, whenever she says anything to me next year, I have to respond, “Yes, dear.”
Oh well, now that it is over, it will be well worth it. I have learned, over 50 years of marital bliss, that saying “Yes, dear” makes my life that much more blissful.
With all that in the past, I now start a new chapter in my life. I am now back in the saddle again and picking up where I left off a couple of months ago.
I have suffered many physical problems throughout the years, but I have noticed now that I am older, it takes me longer to get back in the saddle. I could choose to moan and groan in bed, but what in the world would that accomplish?
The importance of getting “back in the saddle” reminds us that having the right support-like a good horse is key to moving forward, especially for those facing setbacks.
When I was young, I would visit my grandfather at his farm in the mountains of central Pennsylvania and sometimes spend the summer up there. He had a large horse he used on his farm to plow the fields and other work.
My cousin and I would ride that horse, but grandpa did not have any saddles for us to use. We had to climb up on the bareback of that horse, and believe me, it was a huge horse. But we enjoyed riding it as much as we could. Of course, our grandmother was the one who led the horse as we rode it. Why she did that, I will never know.
But it was the horse that led the way. I can get any saddle I want, but if I do not put it on a horse, what good is it really?
Now that I’m back in the saddle, I need to understand the power of that saddle, which is the horse. Which is going to empower me to get back to my normal life?
Of course, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage always questions me about that. “What is normal for you?” She would always ask me. I never had a really good answer for that. What is normal to one person is a fit of craziness to someone else.
It does not matter to me about my normal; if it is crazy, I am going to accept that and incorporate it into my life. What is wrong with being crazy? After all, I have been crazy all my life, so why should I change now?
Now that I’m back in the saddle, I can get into my office and begin working on projects I haven’t been able to work on for the last several months. It is a good feeling to be back in my office again.
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage thinks my office is a mess. She has been tempting me to get into my office, straighten everything out and organize it to her satisfaction.
The last time she suggested that I replied by saying, “Okay, you organize my office and I will organize your craft room. How does that sound?”
I haven’t heard from her since about that.
As I look around my office, I cannot see any mess at all. My office is so organized that I know exactly where to find whatever I need at any given time. I have learned through life that if I can’t find something, it means that I really don’t need it. That has been the saddle on my horse for many years.
Getting back on the saddle is a very challenging proposition. First, I have to know where to start. After about three months of not doing much of what I need to do, I need to find out where to start.
To find out where to start, I have to sit in my office with a nice hot cup of coffee, look around, and take in all the books I have, the computers, the printer and my desk. To The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, this looks like a mess. But, to her adoring husband, all of this inspires me to get back on the saddle and go charging forward.
It is going to take me a week or so to readjust my priorities. What is really the top priority as I get started? The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage always has her priorities in focus. She is the kind of person who can multitask. I have never been able to multitask in my life.
That is why it takes me a little bit longer to get my priorities lined up. Now that I’m back in the saddle, I can go forward and get everything in line to become productive again.
I could not help but think of a Bible verse on this subject. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
As a Christian, my focus is not on my past, but forward on Christ.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.
