"Dad" & "Mom" come a-visiting!

Yesterday, Sunday the Fifteenth, a couple whom I esteem highly paid a visit to San Antonio. They are Jim and Joanne Spiller.

While I was serving as a chaplain in the US Army, A.D. 1981-1984, Jim Spiller was the highest-ranking Army chaplain in our denomination, the Disciples of Christ. When I moved to S.A. in '02 and joined Alamo Heights Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I discovered that Jim & Joanne were members, very active members! They both sang in the choir, which I shortly joined. The Spillers both had been on the Walk to Emmaus, so I saw them at Care Bexar monthly gatherings. Also, I house-sat for them while they took an Alaska cruise to celebrate their 50th in '02.

For these reasons and the fact that the Spillers are sterling role models, as church leaders and as a Christian couple, I informally adopted them as my "Mom" & "Dad". My real parents are are still quite alive, but they're far away in Boise, and Jim & Joanne were right here in S.A.

Then, late in '02 the Spillers moved away to Maryland, to live closer to two of their real children, along with the grandkids. (Another daughter and her family live in Houston.) I was very sad that they were moving, but I understood. And they promised to return in visits to Texas.

Well, Sunday was one of those return visits. "Mom" was already in town, and I saw & hugged her in the morning at church. Then she & I picked up "Dad" at the S.A. International Airport. He was flying in from El Paso, where he had been attending an Army unit reunion, for which he conducted the memorial service Sunday morning. I went into the baggage claim area, to see if I could find him. From behind I spotted a well-dressed gentleman sporting a baseball cap such as is typically worn by Army veterans. I went up and tapped him on the shoulder; it WAS Jim! We hugged each other, and as we parted and continued our joyous greeting, I saw that "Dad" was sporting a beautiful necktie: dark blue with a diagonal red pinstripe about every two inches, with little American flags between the stripes. Well-dressed AND patriotic!

We three hit the road, U.S. Highway 281, north thru Bulverde and into Comal County. A couple who also sing in the choir, Bob and Liz Jones, who live in S. A. but also have property in rural Comal County due north, had invited the Spillers, the choir and a Sunday School class to a get-together at this, their "goat ranch". Pastor Bruce and wife Lizzie and Associate Pastor Marta "Marty" Peña (with her girls) were also invited to this shindig. As folk arrived, we were taken to the nearby pen to view the dozen or so goats and one guardian burro, named "Dumpling". The burro is attractively colored and deligthful. But she DID try to eat my necktie!

While Liz and some other ladies finished preparing the evening meal, Jim, Bob, myself and others congregated on the spacious front porch, chatting about memories of military service or church, and enjoying refreshments and snacks, including a delicious (multi-)fruit punch and "Scoops" chips and picante. Supper featured further scrumptious items, built around turkey, both oven-roasted and smoked. Dessert was pies of several sorts. Some of us ate at a table set up on the other end of the front porch, others feasted inside.

Afterward, we all circled up inside the magnificent two-story great room; it has a limestone fireplace and the second-floor master bedroom overlooks it, separated only by a wooden balcony rail. Each of us in the circle took turns sharing some high point(s) of the year so far, and low point(s) or challenge(s). I delighted to share about the engagement of my son David with a girl who also is involved in Covenant Players touring drama ministry, my FUN summer work on Fiesta Texas Railroad, and my recent service as clergy on men's Walk to Emmaus #1327. I also quickly confessed my numerous health issues of this year (now mostly gone or under control) and my concern for the troubled state of my beloved Emmaus Fourth Day Group (or community), of which I'm Spiritual Director, Care Bexar.

Shortly afterward, it was time for final hugs and "good-byes" for "Mom" and "Dad". They were to spend the nite at the Jones' "goat ranch" home and then Monday or Tuesday be back on the road again.

The Lord Jesus bless Jim & Joanne Spiller. After all, they've been a major blessing in my life and hence I "adopted" them as my "Dad" & "Mom"!