The sunset’s glow is fading. This afternoon’s energetic waves on the lake have faded into hypnotic ripples, and I sit in a quiet reverie searching for words to record an almost inexpressible response to the weekend.
On a practical level, I enjoyed entertaining Kathy, a dear friend from Lafayette. We caught up on each other's lives and reveled over her latest newly-published book. I treated her to home-cooked meals featuring some of her favorites plus decadent surprises like Sticky Buns and French Silk Pie.
But more than that, deep places were stirred this weekend, many of them relational in some way, most of them heart-level. The stirring was not unlike the action of a spoon in a pot of stew, something that encouraged the solids from the bottom to surface – those meaty, thoughtful chunks that may often be ignored in favor of the more obvious, float-to-the-top thoughts. A quiet but transformational simmering – that process of integration and mellowing when the temporal and spiritual merge – left me feeling integrated and comforted, as if a known but neglected hopefulness had been resurrected.
During the course of the weekend I rubbed elbows with reconciliation, restoration, courage, insight, and well-placed faith and humility that enabled both confidence and service. When Kathy addressed our church this morning with a message on the current topic, God’s grace, she delivered an inspired outpouring that brought mercy, compassion, and trust to a higher level – a level matching the position of our lofty, high God. Her testimony suggested that despite earthly detours and road bocks, she continues to join Him in that higher place by faith, even during her challenging journey with blindness. She also reminded us that yes, we can all do the same.
Such enlightened encouragement that stirs and simmers the whole person came as unexpected refreshment. My vision – not eyesight, but my point of view – is more clear and true-to-the-plum-line than before she came.
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