Taking Stock

Fifteen does and a young buck

A hummingbird or two

The usual suspects of cows

A whisper of a whistle pig

A passle of sunflowers

And one very faint rainbow

One evening drive, two miles or so, I take stock, so to speak and wonder how it was for God, out for an evening stroll in the garden.

I derive some sort of satisfaction in this counting I do on an evening drive in the country.

Does God have that same sense, made even more full for the pride of having made it all happen?

I, mere bystander, am filled to overflowing with such things.

And so I stay in my state of wonder and consider what it must be like for God to take stock.

ScotlandTour -- The List

Whenever you get the chance, as I did with this trip to Scotland, to spend a significant amount of time away from your day-to-day life and routines, it seems a good idea to take some sort of stock – an inventory, if you will, of what you come away with.  Here’s mine.

Days spent in Scotland – 48
Books read – 13.5
Miles traveled to get there and back – 8,106.86
Days spent in Scotland – 48
Modes of travel – 4 (trains, planes and automobiles, oh, and feet)
Miles driven in Scotland – 1,400 (give or take)
Friends visited (old and new) – 36
Restaurants – 16
Hours slept – at least 384
Something intentionally spiritual done – 0
Ska punk band concert attended – 1
Cities/towns/locales/sites visited – 18
Sunsets seen – 47 (not nearly as many sunrises)
Days of sunshine – 48 (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)
Trinkets & souvenirs purchased for the folks back home – enough to require an                               additional suitcase
Pictures taken – hundreds
Blog entries posted – 41
Miles walked – I’m guessing 10 (not nearly enough, I know)
Folks in Virginia and West Virginia won’t believe me, but number of times I drove            
               faster than the speed limit - 1 (and that was unintentional - really hoping
               the vidcam wasn’t on just then)
Times driven on the right side of the road instead of the left - 1
Fun/silly things done – 4 (not counting time spent laughing with friends)
Preached – 0
Participated in worship –  1
Money spent – more some would say than I should have and less by far than I          
               could have
Number of people worshiped with – thousands
Number of young people I spent time with – 5
Percentage of overpacking (when will I learn?) – 80
Cuddles with Zara & hugs from Rudaridh - countless
Conversations and catching up with friends - too many to count and yet not enough
Moments of hospitality received – infinite
Time spent doing absolutely nothing productive – glorious!
Laughs with pals Liz and Idris around the table – lots
Puppy kisses from Ruca – laughter producing
Scottish wool sweaters looked at to get just the right ones for my boys
               at home – hundreds
Number of good-byes – too many
Spirit rested and refreshed from the love, grace and care of so many,
               but especially my friend Liz, to take back with me – 1