My Two Weeks on the Nile

This past weekend, I finished up a run playing the role of Potihpar in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” as part of the Dogwood Dell Festival of the Arts.  It was the first theater I’ve done outside the Music and Fine Arts Ministry at my church since college some 30 years ago.

Wow.  That sounds old.

A friend asked me over the weekend why I did it.  I had a hard time coming up with an answer beyond “because I wanted to.”  And, that’s probably enough.

People frequently ask the same question for our church productions.  But there the answer is “because, it’s what we do” and more importantly it’s for the spread of the gospel. 

But being a part of any production like that is a sacrifice.  It’s a sacrifice of free time, family time, and sleep.

My role in Joseph was not a huge role.  But it was pivotal. Never underestimate the importance of the person who threw Joseph in prison to begin with.  It’s a key point in the history of the Tribes of Israel.

But, I digress.

The busiest times for me during the show were the two weeks of the actual production.  Rehearsals ran until late in the evening. 

After the first one, I managed to make it up to get to the YMCA to swim.  But then I decided that getting to bed after midnight only to try to get up by 5:00 a.m. was a little more than this 54-year-old could handle. 

So I got off track with the exercise plan.  And, truth be told, with the eating plan.  I think in the past two weeks I’ve had more french fries than I’ve had in the last six months.  And that was just two orders.  Still, two too many.

All this is to say that this morning we hit reboot.  I made it back to the YMCA and remembered how much I missed it.  Lunch and breakfast were healthier, and I can see myself getting to bed at a reasonable hour.

I’m not one that’s inclined to quote Buddha, but occasionally, even fat old guys can be right.  (Don’t even think of going there.)

Reportedly Buddha said:

No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.

Here we go.