Story

I attended a CLEAR lecture at Redeemer University College the other day.   "Books for Bookclubs"...it was planned months ago, before life had such a frenetic pace.     And there in the middle of the busyness was this beautiful quote by Frederick Buechner (from "The Dwarves in the Stable" from Telling Secrets (1991).

"Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I, of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories in all their particularity, as I have long believed and often said, that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally.  If this is true, it means that to lose track of our stories is to be profoundly impoverished not only humanly but also spiritually."

Sometimes the topics that I write about are just things that I need to "unpack" or "unravel", maybe to identify the loose ends in order to tie them up: Stories of who I am and where I come from and the people I meet along the way and what it looks like when we walk together.  Sometimes the loose ends are tidied, and sometimes they tie onto something else.   The neatest thing is when the loose ends are woven into someone else's story.

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?

My "Job"

Today, I love my job!   Do you ever have one of those days that is just so great that your heart is about to explode out of your chest?   It's cold...but sunny.   My fridge was full of bits....and they were all the bits I needed for casseroles (that everyone will like!).  There was finally a woodpecker on the suet feeder!  I had lots of work...but I could play the music really loud and finished early.   I still have lots of work to do....but I love it.

I'm not going to list all the jobs I have.  Whenever I do that people get tired.   Reader fatigue should not be a consequence of stopping in here...it should be just the opposite.   But...I do love all my jobs.  My jobs take me to such interesting places where I get to make new connections and meet new people.   I'm really thankful that the part time nature of my work allows me time for many volunteer opportunities as well.

I was reflecting on my place in this world the other day...and wondered if perhaps I was hiding my light under a bucket.  And then I realized....naaaaah!!  I still feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to be doing... as far as I can tell.   Staying faithful to the process and being able to respond to various Nudges as they come along.    

Of course, I can't tell for sure...but if it was all wrong I don't think I would have peace: my heart would not be doing jumping jacks today(maybe it's arrhythmia).  I know there will be days when I get bogged down and stressed out.  My circumstances may change and sad things may and do happen.  Even being a parent is a tough assignment these days.  But that's life, and conversely so many fun, neat and grand things happen too!


I hope you have some neat things happening in your day too...whether it is work or play...and if you're lucky then maybe both!