I'm at home today (was here yesterday) with a sore throat and sinus infection. The doctor put me on antibiotics. I'm going to miss the fire department banquet tonight and church in the morning. I hate being sick. Oh, it's nice to be home, but not when I have places to go and things to do.

I noticed that I haven't done an entry since before Christmas. In the time that has elapsed I've been to Haiti, done a Tres Dias weekend and a whole lot of other things. Lots of stuff has happened and none of it has been recorded. Nor have any of my thoughts.

Being sick lets me know how vulnerable I am to my humanity. It's easy to let the guard down and allow an infection in. Lack of sleep, not eating correctly, being exposed to a virus at just the wrong time when my immunity is low - whatever allowed me to get sick exposes my vulnerability.

For the past few months we have been doing a course called Foundations, which was created from the folks at Saddleback Church in California. It is a wonderful (though not perfect) course in Christian faith and doctrine. For the past few weeks we have been dealing with evil and temptation and sin. Again, our vulnerability is exposed as we think about the enemy of our souls and his ability to trick us when we are weak. Satan knows just where our vulnerabilities are and if we are not vigilant, he will exploit those weaknesses.

One thing that has become so very important to me is the Christian community I belong to at Clintondale Friends Christian Church. I have to tell you, these folks are my human lifeline. The fellowship and encouragement that I receive from my brothers and sisters in Clintondale is enormous. We are truly the Body of Christ. While I have been sick I have had good brought over, offers to shovel the walkway from the house to the driveway, someone to preach for me in the morning. God provides through my brothers and sisters. Thank God for them!

So, I'll stay home another day and hopefully I'll be well enough on Monday to go back to my routines. And hopefully I'll be able to learn from this time of forced rest.