The Bruce

I am reading a book called, "The Steps to the Empty Throne," the first of a historical novel trilogy about Robert the Bruce. In a poignant set of scenes, you see how the king of England is disrespectful and condescending to his people when they are in a humiliated position; and soon after, you see a young Robert treating his people in a similar situation with great dignity and respect. It is quite beautiful to see how he used his experiences (even negative ones) to drive his leadership.

Today I filled out health insurance forms for a large part of my precious lunch period- half an hour I could have spent reading instead.

However, I find more joy in it than I used to. When I write down, "Samantha Bartlett," as my wife and, "Isaiah Bartlett," as my son, I declare to the world that we are an interdependent family unit, a small community whose fates are inextricably tied together. I am no longer a smart-mouth kid trying to make my mark on the world- I am leader and representative of a small tribe.

Our goals are simple. We are here to honor God in our stewardship of the life he has given us. We love each other deeply, look out for each other's interests, and drive each other nuts (that last one is for internal use only). We will fight when necessary, make alliances when possible, and try to love all consistently (well, Isaiah is a little lacking in this area, but we'll show him some leniency at this point). Our hope is that our presence in your life is a blessing, but we make no apologies when when our goals challenge your preferences.

As our maturation continues and our identity evolves, our greatest purpose is faithfulness.

Like the Bruce, I hope reflection on my experiences, positive and negative, will help me accept leadership of my small community, so we can together pursue the joys of scriptural faithfulness.