Some days, take two and hit to right

Writer’s block. It’s the real deal. Even for a simple bi-weekly columnist like myself. I spent way too much time staring at a blank computer screen, waiting for the words to magically show up. Today feels like two extremes… far too many ideas, and then no ideas.

So what do I do? I’ve got a column to write. Maybe I should just pray for the right answer and wait it out. That sounds a little cliché though. When I pray about my articles, I pray about what that article will mean to someone. I pray that it leads someone to an interaction with their faith, even if they are not a ‘faithful’ person. I pray that it touches a person that is in the pew every week, yet still makes them say “I never thought about it that way before.”

God works through our hands. We don’t ask for God to do the work for us, we ask for the strength and guidance to help us overcome. We pray for what math nerds would call a vector, aka something that has both direction and magnitude. Yet here I sit, back to flooded with ideas that are maybe half baked at best, and clearly aren’t ready for newspaper eyes yet. Perhaps, that is exactly what this column needs to be.

The low hanging fruit is that school is starting. Kids, and parents, are working on getting back into routines. Their teachers have worked tirelessly to make everything perfect for your kids next academic year. A new school year comes with excitement, maybe a little sadness that summer is over, and probably some feelings of being overwhelmed sprinkled on top. All of this is good and expected, just don’t let the feeling of being overwhelmed win.

Find your out. Find your safe person/pace/thing. Don’t give up on yourself.

I could also concentrate on the impending harvest season. Mother Nature has not been overly kind to us over the past few years. The early summer rains fizzled out, and we are left with what is left. We can hope and pray that there is enough soil moisture to finish the crops. But if there isn’t, there is not much left to do but play the cards we are dealt. At the end of the day, that successful harvest looks like everyone coming home safe and sound every night to a family and community that loves and cares for them.

I could talk about my beloved Twins. Talk about a love-hate relationship. It seems like only the Twins would lose three straight to the Phillies, and then back that up by sweeping the Braves. They are on the spectrum of fantastic to infuriating every single game. Sometimes multiple times a game for that matter.

Maybe I could concentrate on the sadness we all feel in our lives. There always seems to be something. Right now, for me, the sadness is coming from the end of kickball season. Yes, I play in an adult kickball league; and let me tell you, the Funky Buffalos are pretty good at almost winning.

But it is not the games I look forward to. It’s the people. It’s the team that runs 30 deep because we’re old and have lives. It’s the salt of the earth people I get to be with every Sunday night. No judgement, no expectations, just enjoying one another’s company. I challenge you to find a better group of people to be a part of.

Well Stuart, how are you going to tie all of this together with a nice bow on it for your readers? The short answer is I am not. This is life. This is how all of our minds work. Not a day goes by where we aren’t inundated with 1000 things to do or keep track of. There is no way to make our life make sense all the time, but that is what makes life special. The moral of this story is the same thing we tell kids on any given sports team.

Control what you can control. Control your attitude and control your effort. Life is going to give you things that suck. Life is going to give you things that are great. And we get to cling to both of them. God is good (I can hear the chorus of ‘all the time’ as I write this).

I guess the best way to do this is to come back to prayer. Pray for strength, courage, faith, healing, etc.

You don’t need to pray for God to give you the easy road, or the answer to all your problems. Look to God as a companion, not a fixer. You may be surprised by the blessings you find in your life.

And last but certainly not least… Go Buffalos!