He Calls Me Son ~~ Forty-Five Years Today

They named me Ricky, but He calls me His son

Perhaps my 'testimony' could be described in Charles Dickens fashion...the journey past...the journey present...and, the journey yet to come!

T he 'Journey Past'... The oldest of four 'baby boomer' children I lived my first five years in the Southeast of the United States. We were not a family that attended church, though funny, years ago I came across this photo of our family of five at the time going to Easter Service. I have absolutely no recollection of this occasion. Shortly after this time, having moved to the Los Angeles area, my father decided that he would seek life elsewhere. He left months before my baby brother was born, I was 6 ½ years old. Though I would have some sporadic contact with my father over the years, it was the endearing spirit and labor of love of my mother that had the greatest impact on developing my character. Along with my grandmother (her mother), we were never without food, neither clothing, nor shelter. Though poor, I consider my childhood to have been a blessing. Thanks mom! As a young teenager mom married Bob Jopp, it is he who I have the privilege to call dad until this very day.

The ‘Journey Present’ began on July 25, 1976. A girl invited me to her youth group just three days earlier. Being cute, of course I said yes! Seriously though, for the first time in my life (other than family and a few friends) I really felt that I was loved. Yes, by the Lord, but by the body of Christ as well. It was on that Sunday that I acknowledged what Jesus had done for me on the cross. A sinner made clean by His blood and a hope through His resurrection, the likes of which I had never known before. Over the next month and even the next two years, the hunger for God’s word was almost unquenchable.

I would become a firefighter with the Forest Service and then the Air Force, who would take me to Alaska. It was there that I met and married my bride, Karen, of now 42 years this coming September. It was in Anchorage and later Palmer, that working with youth became a key ingredient of my life.

Upon my discharge from the Air Force we moved to Silverton, Oregon. It is here that Karen and I were the first to complete, as a couple, a two-year bible seminary degree at Canyonview, later called Biblion. Since those years we have continued to make Silverton our home, where we raised our three children. I would return to the fire service, working for 27 years at Portland Airport Fire & Rescue.

Through all these years, as with all, we have our broken moments, none-the-less Christ and His church continue to be the centerpiece of our lives. I/we continue to grow in His word. I have had the privilege to be His vessel while working with youth, leading music, and seeing how he would surprise me at using His gift of service in this soul.

Today we find ourselves at a Wesleyan Church in Salem, Oregon. And once again, you’ll find me as one of the coaches for our annual Basketball Camp in early July.

So, what is the vision for the ‘Journey Yet-To-Come’? Instead of ‘retirement’, I have called it “ReFirement”! How, where and when will the Lord ReFire this life and for what? I have found that as I wait patiently for the Lord, He provides a journey that is beyond imagination. It is a journey that often includes kids…baseball…and the gospel. My most recent lesson from the Lord, “Travel slowly, listen deeply, and wait for much more than what one can even imagine. 

 

This is the testimony of Rick. Life is not…has not always been easy, but it has been abundant.

Thank You Lord that I'm a child of Yours!

~~ ‘Thirty-Five Thousand Feet' ~~

View from 'Thirty-Five Thousand'

OMG … ‘Oh my goodness! Or, appropriate would be ‘Oh My God'!

One hundred years ago they could NEVER have imagined the beauty of creation from the height of thirty-five thousand feet. The view of mountains, channels and lakes is simply astounding.

Returning from my second “workcation' in Ketchikan, Alaska. The first was near the winter solstice in 2013, and this time arriving on the 21^st of June, 2021 … the summer solstice.

The ole 'Wollensak 6020'

Glad to help my ‘Towle' friends. In 2013, preparing their house after the death of their mother, to become a rental. This time emptying the LARGE basement, of treasures, momentos and debris, as they prepare to sell the only home that they have known since birth. Now in their sixties ~~ who can say that? I know that I can not.

As this trip concludes, I'm so glad to have assisted. Wednesday will stand as one of my top ten days of exhaustion. Ok … I'm now officially an OLD man, so these days surely are a tad more difficult.

Cessnun View

Now that we're done, and as I reflect on this week, I'm grateful for Marna Towle's direction, for Mike & Marna Cessnun's wonderful hospitality (Yes, two Marna's), and for the four ‘twenty somethings’ whom offered the strength of youth in order too accomplish this daunting task. Container is packed and ready for shipping.

As well, I reflect with a bit of emotion, as I sat across the street from their house and watched Marna while she walked around taking a video of her childhood home ~ one .. last .. time ~ . Only minutes earlier I was sitting at our cardboard box dining room table and enjoyed the breathless view through the 4 x 8' windows that Mr. Towle (her father) installed nearly seven decades ago.

A Full Container :)

One day I shall return to the mainland which was home in the late seventies and early eighties. Where Karen and I would tie the proverbial knot. For now, at least I can say that I've ventured back to Alaska twice … be it the most southern part of this most beautiful state. The view from ‘Thirty-Five Thousand Feet' ~~ priceless!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's OK to cry, it's OK to grieve, it's OK to fall apart" Ryan Stevenson ~~ What a blessing to have had a parent that we so miss. "It's OK to fall apart" ~~