Turning 55
I turned 55 this weekend. But what have I done in these 55 years? What is the connection between a skinny, little "tow-headed" boy playing in the mud in his father's vineyard and the United Methodist missionary living and working in Singapore? How is it that a kid who was contented to tend the vineyard and help with the small-town, family photo business ended up on the other side of the world? For the young boy, that central California vineyard seemed like the center of the universe, a playground for the fingers and the imagination. What amazing things can happen when the fingers and the imagination get hold of a clump of mud! Just ask God. But the universe expanded, and so did its center. The family guided me. All the extended family guided. Besides all the things you're supposed to learn in school, I grew into music - singing, piano, flute, the record player. The church graciously guided me along, and slowly started turning me into a leader - an often relucta