At The Bend in the Road

Back in the day, we vacationed with friends in Maine and decided to pick up lobsters for dinner.  John claimed he knew just where to get them, at a roadside stand with a great price for the crustaceans just around the bend in the road.  As stories go, there were quite a few bends in the road before they got to The Bend in The Road, and most of the water had boiled out of the lobster pot by the time they returned with the main course and soupy ice cream.

I’m remembering that story in these days of transition, as Larry and I enter a time of retirement from active Salvation Army leadership.  I wasn’t sure if the days of preparation for the transition would ever end, if we’d ever make it to The Bend in the Road called retirement.  But after 34 years and 16 days of ministry as a Salvation Army officer (somebody was counting), we’re at The Bend in The Road that concludes our active service.   [Note to loyal fans – read about it in At the Bend in the Road: Reflections of a Smitten Corps Officer].

It’s been an absolutely amazing journey.  Who would have known that the young girl with the bouncing pigtails who could barely reach the pedals on the piano would get her first job playing the piano in a small Salvation Army chapel?  Who would have known that she would fall in love with Jesus, fall in love with Long Point Camp, and then fall in love with a young man who sensed a calling to Salvation Army officership?  Who would have known that Frederick Buechner’s words would speak so clearly to the young woman’s heart: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet?”

Who would have known that this amazing journey would wind its way through the Garden State of New Jersey, stop for a few years in the city of Rocky, brotherly love and Philly cheesesteaks, make an unexpected  detour to the inner city of Cleveland, and put down roots in Canton, Ohio?  Who would have known that the billions of hamburgers flipped beneath golden arches would fund Salvation Army Kroc Centers across the country, and that Larry and I would be midwives for this wonder-filled place of community right here in Ashland, Ohio?   I’ll let you in on the secret:  even when we were clueless, God knew what the plan was, and around each bend in the road opportunities for ministry blossomed before us, planted by those who had been faithful in the preparation of the soil.

And now?  At The Bend in The Road, words of wisdom spoken by a spiritual companion resound.  “We often talk about the life of faith in terms of journey, but sometimes we simply have to stop where we are and dig a well.”  Albert Orsborn, an international leader of the Salvation Army in the 1950’s, recognized the need:  “The well is deep and I require a draught of the water of life.”  After all the years of Christmas kettles, sermons, government contracts, construction meetings, and even sprayparks, it’s time to put down roots, lay claim to a home and reach down deep.

So what’s next?  Salvation Army Captains Brett and Jessica DeMichael are Ashland’s newest immigrants, and will keep the spraypark buckets tumbling and the Salvation Army flags flying.  We’ve passed on the mantle of leadership, the keys to the Kroc Center, and my “dump-the-bucket” list so they will get the call when the alarm goes off at 2 a.m.  We’re taking time to sort the accumulation of stuff from 34 years of ministry, as well as to dream of the opportunities waiting around the next corner.   I’m looking forward to savoring a Coney at the A & W, walking the labyrinth on the hill at the Kroc Center, and writing to my heart’s content whenever the muse taps my shoulder.  Watch the Times-Gazette for Gracednotes every Saturday, as a writer’s eye, a pastor’s heart and a grandmother’s joy bring you a unique perspective on life in Ashland, Ohio, a place for roots and new wells.