A Life that Says....

Whenever I head back to a former home, I am always bombarded with emotion. Emotion about my past and the love people have had and have for me. Conflicting emotions about the person I used to be and the person I am becoming. A bit of sadness about the things in my life that I currently don't have that I had back then -- and a bit of joy about the things in my life that I didn't have then that I have now.

Attending Brookings Wesleyan Church always causes a lot of reflection on my part as well. In my early twenties, this community of believers had huge impact on who I am today. The church his four times as big now as it was then, and it wasn't small then.... and God is doing some very interesting things there.

Staying with my friends Del and Judy is always convicting to me because they are living examples of what it means to BE Christians. I tell people that I surround myself with people who are servants because my spiritual gift is that of being a servee. ;-) And Del and Judy are certainly servants.

But most importantly they have spent years learning to be content. They demonstrate the notion of people who are self-differentiated and integrated within themselves without having a need for more more more that is so prevalent in our culture. And they have the wonderful gift of hospitality.

As I was walking down their stairway I saw a copy of the book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart & Home to Others. They could have written this book. But I started thinking about how different that is from my life.

I think a book about me would be called, "A Life That Says Go Away I'm Busy: Simple Ways to Alienate People through Workaholism." I don't think that the message that I am giving to people is that I want them to be part of my life because I have THINGS TO DO.

When we were with Del and Judy this weekend they were WITH us. Their free moments were spent in conversation with us and our kids, preparing meals for us, and playing games, looking at old pictures, and simply connecting and enjoying being with people. We knew that we were a priority to them.

I never guessed that I would be 47 and just beginning to understand myself. I want to find better ways to be ... instead of simply do. I want to make the next years of my life ones that welcome others instead of pushing them away. And I want to learn how to make other people more of a priority.

But I still have SO MUCH TO DO!!! :-)