Letter to An Anonymous Friend

Hey there!

Two things today.

First, when I was in public high school,there was a little saying. The kind that you would write in people's yearbooks, that didn't really say anything at all, but sure beat giving just a signature:   "Don't let your mind wander....it's too little to be out alone."

Second, I have to tell you how thankful I am for Godly friends.  (I've said that before, and it still holds.  I suspect I will always be thankful.)  And Godly friends who have Godly friends...who also like to write.  I have really enjoyed our "back and forth".   The metaphors, the analogies, the verses, and the quotes.

Quite often when I leave a conversation with a friend, something will linger in my mind.  Something we talked about.  Something they said.  It lingers, while just as often, I can't remember the answer to a question that I just asked and to which I received a response (probably because I'm still thinking about that lingering thing!).   And so my mind wanders, in good directions. Godly friends stimulate Godly thoughts...and that's what makes me thankful.   It's part of the importance of entering into dialogue with God's people. It turns out I'm a "soul" person.

Spending time at that funeral recently and being in dialogue with you made me contemplate the concept of community in relation to family, and vice versa.   I rarely get homesick.   But once in a while PEI feels really far away.   That's where all my siblings live.   If I'm lucky, I get to lay eyes on them once a year.    Our next reunion is 2012. (Sigh).  I often tell people that not having my family around me has caused me to invest differently in community than if they lived here in town.  I believe strongly that we are created for relationship: first and foremost, for relationship with God.    Because I'm also "heart" person I treasure the relationships with the people around me...the ones I see with my eyes everyday and every week.  Maybe more so because I'm not able to see and hold my family physically.  There are people in my community who love me like a sister, people who I love like a brother, and people who nurture like a parent.   So my community really does feel like family.  It doesn't diminish the love that my own siblings feel for me....it's the blessing God gives to people when they live far from home.  These are the people He uses to reach out when I need to feel His touch. It's hard to hug all the way from PEI. :)

At the curling bonspiel a few weekends ago, I was able to witness a family pull together to help out and organize an entire event.  A brother filled in on a team and provided door prizes and thank you gifts,  a sister-in-law organized the hospitality details for the day, and the kids kept the candy dishes full (very important!).  Likewise,  I love watching families stand around and drink coffee together on Sunday morning, catching up over the week's events for a moment.  When I go to PEI I love going to church with my siblings, where we can worship together in the church where we grew up.   I know that if my siblings lived nearby, they would step in to help with the Spring Dinner in a heartbeat...   Instead I feel really thankful and privileged to have friends who love to come alongside and help out here.  I don't feel alone or far from home at all, because I'm so blessed to have these roles filled by such special people. 

The problem with "heart" people is that they feel deeply.   Pain hurts deeply.   But....the good thing about being a "heart" person is feeling the love and the joy deeply. Those are the days that my heart wants to explode out of my chest.  The problem with "soul" people is that they spend a lot of time thinking about it...usually deeply.

Once in a while, I wonder if I invest too much in community. Inappropriately.  Do I expect/demand more in return than I have a right to?    Maybe I feel pain where other people don't.  Why do I want to change the world so that its pain diminishes?   Am I supposed to?   That said...I know I also hurt people sometimes. Devastating to admit, but I sometimes let people down.   As long as we can accept ourselves and each other, limitations, humanness and all, we can keep putting ourselves out there.  

I have a myriad of unpublished posts...and like your quote said...they are among some of my prized possessions. :)

Talk soon?