A Personal Update

It’s been a year and a half since I put up a personal update on the blog. That’s a long time, so today I’m sharing some of our recent news:

School is back in session for our children this week, which means summer is officially over. We didn’t get to go to America to visit our families this year, but all four of our parents did get over to visit us (and a niece as well). This was especially significant because both my mother and Jessica’s father had heart surgeries early this year. We are thankful that both have recovered well, and it was wonderful to have them here in Ireland. Our travel this summer was to take a ferry over to England for a Christian conference. It was one we’d never been to, and we barely knew anyone there, but that was soon remedied. It shouldn’t surprise me anymore, but it really is amazing how quickly our connection in Christ can override every area of difference and turn strangers into friends. We left refreshed and encouraged.

While we were on the other side of the Irish Sea, we also fit in a family holiday in Cornwall. It was our first time there, and we can confirm that Cornwall really is a beautiful part of the world with all its cliffs, coves, and clotted cream. The pasties were our favourite, though. Whoever thought of wrapping up meat and veg in a pastry like that, so cheap and warm and delicious, is a great human who deserves a statue more than a lot of humans who have them. I’d like to see that statue. Then again, I’d rather just have another pastie. I’d love to have another ramble in that scenery, as well. It’s inspiring. In fact, it inspired three of my recent blog posts:

One post came from walking on the cliffs:
https://sethlewis.ie/2023/07/26/the-sheep-dont-know/

One post came from playing in the sea:
https://sethlewis.ie/2023/07/19/playing-in-power/

And one poem came from a man and his dog walking by in the campground:
https://sethlewis.ie/2023/07/12/slowly-a-poem/

I probably could have told you before we arrived that I would end up writing something about the cliffs and the sea. The last one was a surprise, though. Honestly, one of the most surprising things about my life right now is the fact that I write poetry at all. I wrote a poem about that:

Surprise

The fact that I write poetry
Surprises me continually

It wasn’t in my plan for me
But I can’t help it—

The world and everything I see
Surprises me continually

In other news, Dream Small has been out for a year now, as of tomorrow. Many thanks to all the great people at The Good Book Company who took on an unknown author like me and worked so hard to make the idea come to life. I’m delighted to announce that a German version of Dream Small has just been released, and a Korean version will follow sometime next year.

Meanwhile, day to day life for our family is the same as always. When I say “the same as always” I mean it feels the same, but in reality it’s always changing, little by little, as the children grow up and life moves forward. That’s how life works, and I’m trying to learn to lean in to it and appreciate every stage, every step. I know that there will always be surprises—like heart surgeries and poetry and who knows what else—but I rest in the knowledge that God’s plan has not been sidetracked. He is never surprised. As the great poet, King David, wrote in Psalm 139:

All my days were written in Your book
and ordained for me
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God,
how vast is their sum!
If I were to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;
and when I awake,
I am still with You.