I have absolutely no deep thoughts to share with you this evening. (Some of you may be thinking that I rarely have anything of depth to say 🙂 I am looking back over the last several days and find that I feel extremely happy. We are experiencing that perfect spring weather…70 degrees and sunny. All the trees are in bloom…the one you see here is a cherry tree right in my very own backyard. The blooming trees make it look as if all our neighborhoods have been decorated for some sort of festive occasion…like the trees all have on their party dresses and the big dance is tonight.
The blooming trees…in fact, all the blooming things…have always brought me unexplainable joy…quite unreasonable joy probably. I remember when we first moved to Virginia, there was a tulip tree outside my office in D.C. This is when I worked for Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition. Each day as the tree got progressively more beautiful, I would walk into the office exclaiming about the amazing tree…”did you see that tree!?!?” My co-workers would all look at me like I had 3 heads and give each other that look…you know, the one that says “what is that crazy white girl from Texas talking about now?” Of course, that was 16 years ago, when we were new to the area and I was still getting used to the amazing beauty of spring in Virginia. I just couldn’t believe they could walk by that tree every morning and not be awestruck by it! I am grateful that, for whatever reason, God has wired me so that my enthusiasm for the special beauty of spring has diminished very little in the ensuing years…now I just make my children look at the trees and ooh and aah in the ways that I find appropriate. They only look at me like I have 2 heads, not three 🙂
What else about this weekend has made me smile? We had a wonderful celebration at church this afternoon. We had a formal building dedication service today and it was just beautiful. We were able to look back once again at the process by which we had arrived at this special day and rejoice in God’s sovereign plan at every step. I realized once again how blessed our family is to have a true church “family.” I can honestly say that there is no place I would rather be than there with those people in that place. The safety that my children feel there, the acceptance and love we all experience there, the presence of God that connects us one with another…not in any fake “stained glass” kind of way…but in the way that real people find connection with one another in an imperfect world. Just today, in that building, I experienced laughter and tears and I was equally unashamed of both. In our increasingly disconnected world, our church is my safe haven and I like to think it is for my husband and children as well…not perfect, but as close to perfect as we will experience this side of heaven. Today, during that celebration, amidst the laughter and rejoicing and connectedness, we perhaps got a glimpse of what heaven will be like some day. I wouldn’t have been anywhere else on earth today (besides, you should have seen my husband in his CPC Security uniform….it was hot 🙂
What else about this weekend? I got to spend some quality time with some very special people throughout the weekend. My sweet husband took the day off on Friday and, before he played golf in the afternoon, we spent the morning together. We didn’t do anything special…had coffee on the back porch and talked, ran some errands together, had a quick lunch at Taco Bell…but in our busy lives, it was something special. I was reminded, once again, that after 25 years together, I am still absolutely crazy about him. On Saturday night, our family spent the evening with some of our best friends; friends we have known for 16 years and friends whom we see way too infrequently. Again, nothing special, but a wonderful time to appreciate the blessings of long time friendship. Then today, we had lunch with some other dear friends whom we have become closer to in just the past year. Yet another example of savoring the blessings God gives us in the people whom He has, in His wisdom, placed in our lives to accompany us on our journey. Really, it was a perfect weekend in many ways and I guess I am just feeling extremely grateful tonight.
I did not, however, get all the laundry done this weekend and my room is a mess. And best of all, I couldn’t care less!
Sounds like Sabbath time to me.