It’s actually pretty ironic.

All week long I have been writing and speaking about “change.” I’m in Dallas for the NACDB annual meeting and the 2011 Worship Facilities Conference & Expo.

Late Thursday afternoon, just as the Expo was closing, my bag with laptop, Kindle, some books, and project files was stolen from our display booth. 5 minutes before it was there; I turned around from talking to someone and it was gone.

It was just a “thing,” not a person. In the grand scheme of things I’ve heard this week and the life stories I’m a part of, it should be no big deal.

But in a whole lot of ways, it was my “life” – certainly my professional life for the last 7 1/2 years, and a majority of my other life – writings, projects, research, church stuff, and a whole lot of things I’m even now trying to remember.

Gone.

I’ve always been a pragmatic, bridge-under-the-water guy. Long a student of history, I’ve thought & told others that what’s happened can’t be changed, that you must live in the present and create your own future.

Sounds good till the only past you have resides in a spotty memory, your present is filled with sleepless anxiety, and the future is dark.

So it’s 4:30 AM, sleep has eluded me, reading just isn’t working, and TV is dreary infomercials and bad news. I’m writing a lot and posting a little via my cell phone to see if I can begin to process what’s going on.

I don’t know – and am having difficulty expressing – what’s going through my head.

But change is here.