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Time Expands Our Stories

Posted on March 28, 2023March 29, 2023 by Pam

Before I get back to school and the next debrief on YWAM – a few observations on the day. I visited the Colosseum in 2017 with my church, Canyon Hills Community Church, on a short-term mission near Bari. We spent one day in Rome and I remember the Colosseum as being biggest thing I have ever seen. Today I had the pleasure of revisiting. In the summer it had been 93 degrees. Today, in early spring, it was 62 – wardrobe change! I remember returning to the states two days later with purple legs. Let me explain. We had run from the Colosseum to the Vatican (remember – doing everything in one day). I was 20+ years older than my compadres and keeping up the pace was not easy. It is a distance of 3.6 KM or 2.2 miles. We pounded the pavement in the heat. By the next day my legs had turned purple. I had never broken capillaries before but it will turn your legs purple. It was still a magical day and why I wanted to revisit. I cannot tell you how many football fields would fit in the Colosseum but it was still smaller than I remembered. Time expands our stories. I think it is human nature to “aggrandize” the past and make it bigger and better than it actually was – “the good ‘ole days”! It isn’t honest, however.

Being cool, I found a sunny spot and thought and prayed about martyrs. I keep reading the consequences of believing in Jesus in scripture. I don’t understand killing anyone because they choose to think differently from me. Why is consensus so important to humans? I like it when people affirm me but my ideas do not depend upon it. I have experienced disapproval recently that I will never agree with. I am not a follower and am honest on that. Pressure does not affect me as much as it should? So I stayed in the sun thinking about God’s Son who died for me. I don’t die daily because I sin but I don’t think I should go to dangerous places where Christians are murdered for their beliefs. God can work on me but today that is where I stand. If people disapprove of me I think of the letters of John. If you can’t love the person in front of you (especially over something as inconsequential as money) how can you go to the ends of the earth because you love people?

Random observations from today, and my time in Europe, remind me that I prefer the familiar. US ways are not better but I have lived with those ways for a long time. In Europe I miss seat covers in the commode. It is untrue that Italians wrap their pasta in a tablespoon because I have never once been given a tablespoon in an Italian restaurant. Americans are, generally, better and kinder drivers. We are taller than Italians and Albanians but I looked Swiss enough that, if I didn’t speak, I felt accepted. It is true that wearing a tummy pack announces to the world that you are a tourist. I can’t help myself because a tummy pack is secure and keeps me organized. Shame on Howard Schultz. This morning I got a cappuccino and croissant, total 2.5 euros. I walked a different way when I arrived and paid 6 euros – so – shame on shopkeepers who do not post pricing and then “size you up”. I will always wish for big showers. I will always wish to not share showers with twelve other people! I love the smiles of all people. My ancestry is 100% western European so I better not complain because these are my people. Because European countries are so near each other there are more similarities than one might expect. I don’t think I have any ethnic prejudices but last night I dipped into a restaurant desperately needing to use the rest room. I did need supper so ordered then waited for the longest time. A parade of very large ethnic ladies lined up for the same purpose. There were about 12 ladies and, by the time I was able to use the facilities I was mad, impatient, and grossed out. There are several things wrong with this picture and I need to work on some things. I am proud to be an American and proud of my heritage. I am more outspoken than I care to be because I am an American. Maybe this will all turn out well and God will use this boldness and I will be closer to my original design AND closer to the path God has in mind for my next season.

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"Thoughts from a genuinely evaluative mind."

Pam writes so that must make her a writer. Recently retired, she can now fill days with family, friends, missions, writing, creating, and showing up for whomever needs her. Pam loves the Lord and people. The Bible is God’s love letter to us (and who does not need more love) so she studies and writes some more.

Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest but was home-grown in Southern California. She attended San Jose Bible College and finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at UCLA. She became a teacher, then a Research and Development Chemist, then she built two successful real estate businesses in two states. Pam also pursued study at Fuller Theological Seminary and just completed six months serving in missions abroad.

Pam has two amazing children, married to two precious in-laws, and five sweet grandchildren. Pam is a gifted connector and communicator and the Northwest has the perfect climate for staying inside and writing – or baking! She has been writing since a wee one and is currently converting many years of blogging, by topic, into ten books. The first is a collection from 2011 titled, Beautiful Enough. The second is a yearly day-timer titled, Weekly Planner - Lessons in Life, Glory, and Grace. Number three is in progress with the working title, Christmas Today.

Ten facts about Pam in no particular order:

  1. On the team that developed an insulation for the Alaskan oil pipeline.
  2. Loves looking at homes, decorating, and has flipped five homes.
  3. Likes being tall.
  4. Films have helped define her vocabulary.
  5. Comes from Colorado tenement farmers with history traced to Wales.
  6. Was lost but now is found.
  7. Baking makes her happy – as does eating sweets with coffee, of course.
  8. She thinks mission work is the most important work in the world.
  9. The church started in Rome so she is learning Italian.
  10. Pam is a work in progress!

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4

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