Early Afternoon

I spent last evening with my friend A, and her daughter N.  In between N's bedtime routine, A and I snuck in as much catching up, these are the things that are on our hearts conversation as we could manage.  Over dinner, and ice cream and tea, we talked.  We shared the things going on in each of our lives, and the things the other could be praying about.  I imagine it was the sort of evening that others would look at oddly.  I cleaned up her kitchen while she put N to sleep, and we chatted in between the little interruptions where N would rouse and need to be calmed again.  But for me, the evening was a gift.  It had hugs and love and baby cuddles and food.  It had the gift of genuine, no-holds barred conversation, without judgement, and the gift of seeing the ways God is at work in each of our lives.  I walked away challenged again by the lifestyle A and her husband and their daughter have chose to embrace.  By who they are, by the ways that they challenge and encourage me, the ways that they seek God in what they're doing, and how they're living and parenting.  (And hey, I even walked away with a great new recipe to try!)

I had a bit of a wild bus ride home, getting off the bus downtown, to wait for the next one, to avoid a rather intoxicated native man who was harassing the girl sitting in front of me, and beginning to turn his attention to me as well.  It wouldn't have been my choice to spend fifteen minutes waiting for a bus on my own, downtown, late at night, but I made it home safely, and happily collapsed into sleep at mom and dad's.  It was a bus ride that stirred questions and thoughts about homelessness, safety, poverty, and love again, and it will take time to process.

I slept late this morning, and I'm currently curled up, propped against pillows, and under blankets, working on some of the harder and more personally challenging tasks that I need to accomplish this weekend.  I'm doing them in little chunks, embracing a favorite school homework strategy, of setting aside all distractions for a set period of time (20 minutes today) and doing nothing but the hard thing for that time, and then taking a break.  It works for me, especially with quiet, instrumental, spa type music playing, with ocean waves and things like that.

I have errands to run today, and more to accomplish.  But for this moment, what I need is some food, so I'm off to take care of that need.  I'm thankful for a quiet Saturday, for moments to breath amidst the hard stuff.  For the encouragement of time with a heart-friend, and the knowledge that I can work safely through the harder things, and even the unexpected challenges.  For the reminder of friends praying, and the peace that Jesus offers.  It's that sort of day today, and I am leaning into it.