Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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And I only took Calculus Applications, a kind of watered down version of AP Calculus. . .

Halloween is “All Hallows’ Eve” abbreviated. Tomorrow is “All Hallows Day” or “All Saints Day.” These random facts brought to you by my high school Spanish teachers. But I realize these nuggets are not so random after all.

It could be that I might have outgrown the novelty of Halloween – I’ve never needed an excuse to eat excessive amounts of candy. Surely my not contracting diabetes so far is evidence of God’s mercy, but I digress. Or, more likely, ever since my friends passed away around this time six years ago, I couldn’t care less for the festivities.

Today was another one of those days on the job when I wanted to be anywhere but there. I thought, Lord, today would’ve been a good day to just take me home.

Here’s when the aforementioned random facts about Halloween become relevant. Supposedly, November 1 is the day of the year when all the saints who’ve died “pass away” – to heaven. Tangent: is this where the term, “faithful departed,” comes from?

So, tomorrow would be an apropos day to reflect on what Paul means when he says to die is gain in Philippians 1, would it not? Yet he concludes that living would mean fruitful labor. I really like The Message version of this passage, and here are a few verses:

Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose. As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.

“The desire to. . . be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better.” Oh, my God – Amen! In this moment, I really can’t.

From what I read on the current World Racers’ blogs, this journey brings each one as close to God as she or he has ever been or may hope to be while still alive. And if that holds true, I don’t mind another day of life in the body; I’ll be that much closer to the next best thing.