Today is David Cameron Holmes' birthday. Today he turns 28 years old. Happy Birthday there friend. Another year, and we made it! Tonight we celebrated with house dinner in the usual fashion and Mandy made her deliciously comfortable lasagna... and we talked for awhile. A few of us were missing for various but not having 8 or 9 people crammed around the dinner table is definitely more conducive to conversation.
This afternoon I took a little drive to Roanoke to have coffee with the amazing Mary Pendleton Stafford. How I love thee. It amazes me how the Lord orchestrates things in our lives from the big to the very little...as I sat with Mary in her very cute kitchen I was just taken aback by the span of our conversation and how despite the differences in our lives, I could relate, I felt like I was heard, and I was understood. And even more importantly I felt challenged. To be better, to see clearer, and to keep moving up and through what my life is right now. Being complacent is not enough, and to be frustrated in situations I am not pursuing to change is not productive.
It's strange though how one person can stimulate all sorts of thoughts and feelings long after your time shared together has transpired. I drove home and while I do not like the sound of 'fester', some insights do stick and they start to crawl into your skin and you can tell that the Lord is inspiring some sort of change. Some sort of movement. Probably enough that I felt even a little moody on my way home because I could sense changes that I knew were time to make, and light was shed on the journey at hand. I felt encouraged by the things Mary said about growth, at looking back two years, and one year from today. It is priceless to have someone in your life that you can present yourself completely unedited and uncensored...there are boundaries in all friendships, pride issues when we are trying to vulnerable, but Mary? For some reason she is one of those women that I've been able to be blunt with to the point at times, that it is like being blunt with myself for the first time.
Who does that for you? Who has the Lord placed in your life and in conversation you have felt the itch to be better, the spark to edit somethings out of your life, or just face things you've been avoiding? I suppose its not always the same person and that sometimes days or weeks can go by before we are touched in such a profound way. I pray that you treasure who they are, that you don't avoid them, and that you are used as a catalyst in a similar fashion with men or women in your community.
So while conversation was great for my soul, I did not do a great job in taking care of my body today. I didn't have breakfast, had a small and crap lunch- drank too much Diet Coke and Coffee and then had dinner. I went to the Y today, and I know that I deserve the star I put on my fridge, I can now see how also not being good to myself was not good for my attitude either. It's so refreshing when you are able to see where moodiness can come from- makes you feel less crazy, and less manic that is for sure. If only we knew that while in the process of not drinking enough water, and not having enough nutrients in one day was going to make such a substantial movement on our attitude, we could remedy the problem before it became emotional. Only if I could learn this lesson.
Tomorrow I am getting in the car and heading to Springfield, Ohio to see my friend and Boo, Kerri. I get to spend some time with this special friend, and then see Mark on Friday. I will then travel to Indy to see Emily on the weekend, and then down to Lexington, KY to see Jules on Sunday...then back on Monday. It is going to be a whirlwind for sure, but I am looking forward to the friends I will see, touch, and talk to...while the idea of isolation and relaxation at some tropically warm and mild climate sounds amazing, and an idea that was entertained this past weekend- I am thankful that I chose friendship. Community. Conversation. Reconnection. Hugs. Fellowship. I mean, seriously- pool fabulous. But all of you? Simply fantastic- and exactly what this heart needs.
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