I retired, or like to say, “reconfigured” on my 63rd birthday as a family physician at DVH after nearly three decades. I am striving to spend more precious time, in more precious ways, with the precious people in our community. This routine in my life has everything to do with nurturing and building relationships. I hope that my realizations and reflections inspire others to do the same. This is because earthly time moves fast and is relatively short before we pass next into what we hope to be the eternal journey.
Regarding relationships with one another, perhaps people I’ve bumped into at the Big M or Speedway occurred because God has a reason to put those people near me at that particular moment. We each meet so many people every day. Have you ever felt that some chance meetings or coincidences might be God-incidences? It’s a blessing and refreshing for me to have a few minutes to chat and get beyond a hurried glance or superficial talk like “You staying out of trouble?” or “You keeping busy?” Recently, I was one of four people sitting silently in a waiting area and one fella broke the silence with a smile and positive comment. What followed was a great conversation and though we superficially already knew each other, it felt as if something supernatural occurred. The bottom line is - WE are the blessings to each other.
Regarding relationships with God, I believe God has given and continues to give many blessings to our community. It is no wonder that people pay money as tourists to visit where we live! I heard someone from out of town at McDonalds say, “There sure are a lot of churches in this small town!”
That’s true and they are all among our treasures. I am a Catholic Christian and try to attend daily Mass. Respectfully, each of our church services are different, but interestingly Mass is derived from the word ‘missio’ or mission. The mission is actually stated by a priest or deacon at the end of the Mass before we go out into the world.
“The Mass is ended. Let us go in peace to love and serve God and each other”
I look forward to spending more time building relationships with God and other people whether inside or outside Church. Here is some scripture for you to enjoy which builds on this theme:
Spending Time With God: James 4:8, Mark 1:35, Psalm 63:1
Spending Time With Each Other: Hebrews 10:24-25, 1Peter 4:8-10, Ecc 4:9-10
Dr. Mike Freeman is a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. Recently retired he and Dr. Denise have developed an interactive website Deacondoc.com to be active within the month and the mission is “To heal, to serve, to share.”
