On the road with a wise man

“We can take note of what shaped us, but ours remains the choice of how we will respond. What will we choose to value and encourage around us and in others? It takes awareness and intentionality to choose love and patience.”

My dad is 90. Last summer my mom passed on. They had been together for nearly 70 years. That statement can be understood as both the gift of a long love and a window into the depth of loneliness that follows.

Over the holidays we three siblings offered up this Christmas present: A road trip. It started in Northern Indiana, made its way to Fresno, Calif., then on to Tucson, Ariz., and back again, time spent with each family. Each of the three of us drove a leg. Mine went from Tucson to Goshen, Ind., about 28 hours of driving. Across two days, dad and I talked nearly without stop.

At one point I asked him about something I had thought about for years: How was it that as he aged, he became more open, gracious and curious?…

Lederach, John Paul. “On the Road with a Wise Man.” Anabaptist World, June 17, 2022.

Originally published by Anabaptist World.

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