Nearing the end, class tomorrow, constancy

Mama and I each follow a Bible reading program that guides us through reading the Bible in one year. We have repeated that process for many years, but each year, near the ending of the calendar year, it is nice to come to the end of the guide and know we have accomplished that goal once more. Having the Bible in audio format facilitates the daily reading. It is nice, where needed, to have someone else pronounce those names that are difficult for us to sound out. Every year there are new discoveries in our daily reading and every year, though we follow our guides to repeat the process, the Bible seems fresh and new.

So, on December 31 I will read the last chapter in Revelation, and January 1 I will read the first chapter in Matthew. I will read the last chapter in Malachi on the last day of the year and read the first chapter in Genesis the first day of the New Year. Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs are read daily with the Psalms and Proverbs being repeated twice through the year.

I have been challenged several times to try a different program for my daily reading, but I have stuck with what I am used to for about fifteen years. It takes me about twenty minutes each morning because I read the assigned passages in Psalms and Proverbs in both English and Spanish. That is one of the means of keeping Spanish in front of my mind on a daily basis. It is a nice way to begin each day and over the years has become a habit. Sharing those moments in the morning with Mama, thought we are reading separately, is one of the blessings of working from home. Until that changes, we will enjoy that time together with each other and with the Lord. Soon we will have a new year to look forward as we start once more at the beginning.

I will be in class tomorrow. I will not be the designated instructor. I will be there to evaluate the presentation given by a fellow employee who will be presenting the class for the first time. I do not anticipate any issues, but it will make both my management and the presenter feel better to have me in the class as he gives it a go. This will be the last class of 2021. Next year, we start off with a full schedule beginning on January 4. Classes are scheduled out through the first quarter at the rate of two to three classes per week. I will be busy keeping that schedule and it will help to have two backup instructors qualified to present classes when I need to take time off. That was not possible this year and as a result I am carrying over almost a week of vacation which adds the complication of having even more time off to use up next year. A good challenge which I am certain Mama can help me overcome as long as I have backup instructors to fill in for classes during the time off I am assigned by Mama.

This coming weekend we are forecast to have a couple night in the teens. Daytime temperatures are predicted to be in the forties, but when we see twenty degrees and below in our area, that is a challenge for me and Mama to keep our waterlines from being damaged. I am especially concerned about the line I installed for a temporary line at the barn. It will not survive a night below twenty degrees without some extra precautions, so I have to take the time to install the yard hydrant I purchased for that purpose. Fitting that into the schedule over the next few afternoons is going to take some coordination. It is one of those chores that I should have done weeks ago, but it has not been an urgency – until now. Nothing like an emergency to get me to do what needed doing for some time already.

Having the farm to tend to lends a constancy to our lives that anchors us well. Regardless of the season, the chores continue, and the animals pass the days in our care unaware of the passage of time or the other cares of life we deal with. They know when to expect us to put feed in their feeders and they treat each feeding as though Mama and I had forgotten them even though they were fed only hours ago. It is fun to participate in the continuum, especially with Mama to share the experience with.

The calendar may change in a few days, but our lives remain fairly constant.