Catching Up

One little unplanned trip out of town really set me back in the assigned readings for my class. Today I read ALL day, and haven't quite broken even. Some of the print in these tomes is so small I end up seeing double after several hours of trying to squint my way through such texts.

Not that I don't find it fascinating. We are reading the Patristic Fathers writings, men and women who lived in A.D. 100s and 200s. Much of what they wrote is still very much applicable to current times and thinking. I wonder that they were so well learned back then. Their logic and reasoning is solid and well grounded. Perhaps we have not progressed as much as we think, computers and jetplanes aside.

While I recognize that the massive amounts of time I am dedicating to these readings takes away precious time I would like to be spending with my boys, my grandchildren, my friends, I also see that the time commitment is temporary. By this time next year I will be free and hopefully more centered in my faith if nothing else.

Still, its important to maintain the balance between the truly important stuff and the ancillary activities. So people will always come first, and studies last. Except on the occasional day like today when I sit at my desk or in my reading chair and immerse myself in first century theology and philosophy. Which I hope will impact and improve the people thing for me. I guess I just got tired of hearing the names of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas bandied about without really having a clue what they were about. I wanted to really hear what they have to say. Now I am getting to do that! Yeah! Blurred vision and all.