March 20

The last few several days got away from me!  And they have been chock full of wonderful moments with friends and many, many "God moments."

Friday, spring was in the air as I volunteered.  The flowers were blooming and I heard many stories of springs gone by, gardening, and hope.  The robins are definitely back, and we're starting to see a little color on the finches.  Daffodils are in bloom and crocuses, and the trees even have a little color on them.  One gentleman, a biologist by training, worried about the early green and what might happen if we still get a frost--very plausible since it's only the middle of March.  The conversations I share keep me fresh and on my toes.  The stories I hear inspire me.  I treasure this time.

Early, early on Saturday, I picked M. up from the train station for a day in Oberlin.  We went for a long walk/run (read: J and I walked T while M ran), showed her around town, and ate a delicious dinner with some of our Oberlin friends.  It was a delight to introduce her to the wonderful friends we have made here and to see the different parts of our lives come together in a exuberant dinner party, with good wine and delicious grilled pizza.

We drove to Chicago on Sunday afternoon and met L & T for dinner in Uptown.  We walked along the Lakeshore path from M's apartment.  I love being in that city.  And so many people were out enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful pre-spring day.  Tennis players, golfers, bikes, runners, and rollerbladers.  I even managed to get a tiny bit of sun.  We had an awesome sushi dinner and drinks at one of our favorite Chicago bars.  Lots of catching up, laughter, and generally enjoying one another's company.

The main reason, however, for my quick trip to the city was for a conference at LSTC yesterday.  Dr. Linda Thomas and Nadia Bolz-Weber spoke about how our identities matter in ministry.  It's also an added bonus to be able to sit in the LSTC chapel, one of the places that grounds me most.  I dipped my hand in the baptismal font and caught up with many colleagues and classmates.  Several of my classmates went out for lunch at one of our favorite Hyde Park restaurants.  We laughed and shared stories of joy and frustration and the ups and downs of this life of ministry.  We shared stories of our families and just generally caught up with one another.

As I listened to stories from House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, I was moved by the stories of the Eucharist making a difference in every day life--of people making connections to that meal and the meals of every day, of a new found family coming together to eat where all are truly welcome.  Both lectures challenged me to think deeply about the contexts in which I live and serve, as well as the importance of story telling.  Our stories matter and they need to be told.  How is God at work in life?  Why does our faith matter?  Who taught us and how do we carry it out?

On this first day of spring, I changed the trainer tire on my bike to the outside tire and J and I went for a 26 mile ride.  It felt great.  The countryside around Oberlin is beautiful--the flowers and trees and little farms.  There's even a little vineyard.  Our halfway point was the Lorain County line.  It was a great way to spend the morning--feeling the breeze on my back, and then, coming back, on my face.  It's good time to think and reflect and even do a little bit of praying.

So to sum it up, in the past few days, I've seen God at work in flowers and blooming trees, through stories, and in people I have loved for a long time and people I just met.  Incarnational.  Gritty.  Real.  Wonderful.