Roosters and flowers, friends and shared meals

Think about your week. What has been fun? Challenging? A new opportunity? A sweet connection? Say a quick "thank you" to God for that before you read further, ok? Gratitude lifts the heart.

Saturday, October 16, 2021

After morning coffee, W returns to pick me up and we're on the road south. We call friends along the way though we don't have time to visit them. We eat mid-afternoon at a great diner. 

The clientele and menu are typically American. The portions are huge. We're combining lunch and supper, so we try to finish as much as we can. The server recommends fish and fries for W.

Since a turkey costs $100 in Bandung, I order the turkey dinner with cranberry sauce and stuffing. It's a little dry around the edges but I enjoy the flavor. W helps with the mashed potatoes - who could eat these portions?!

The hotel bed is quiet, clean, and comfortable. There's even a bathtub and endless hot water. I finish reading my book in the bath.

Sunday

One of the delightful things about teaching at one university for nearly 30 years is how many students know you from past decades. W meets an alumnus in the Bethel Chehalis foyer, where we are speaking this morning. We send the pic to our son, who went to school with Danny C.

Between the first and second talk, Pastor Dan chauffeurs us to Centralia, about 15 minutes away. We speak there after I hug Vicki, sitting in the row ahead of us. I haven't seen this dear friend in years, though we are connected online. Before the end of the gathering, we hustle out the back to the car and the short drive to a final session at Bethel. Our hosts and their friends are warm and welcoming, a great blessing to us. How we've missed in-person gatherings for the past 1 1/2 years in Bandung.

Whoever does the landscaping at Bethel has a good eye. The planters lining the entry are bursting with texture and color.

Pastors Kyle and Joanne, Dan and Julie treat us to lunch. What great company. The food is delicious and the server is exceptional: attentive, quick, and observant. She has a sense of humor, too. When we ask her to take a picture, she takes a few of the group at the table and then, grinning, snaps a few more with her in it.

We drive the 2 hours to Seattle and get in before 5:00 p.m. It's date night for our son and daughter-in-love, while we have a grandchild sleepover.

After the parents head out, we strap the grandkids into the car for our annual trip to Half Price Books. There are lots of toys and books at discount prices, and the kids get to spend their birthday money plus a hard-earned reward (a bit of extra cash in this case). Why? They memorized all 5 chapters of the book of James last year!

We return to the flat for supper and a sleepover in their new Indonesian PJs. I confess that the food I'm making is awful. I have minimal supplies: we shopped once weeks ago for a few groceries. And we've hardly been home in weeks (3 or 4 nights so far?) My supplies are frozen or leftovers from that shopping excursion.

We read bedtime stories about kids in Indonesia and they settle in to sleep before 9:00 p.m. Before I turn in, I set the table so we're ready for breakfast tomorrow. It's a noisy and restless night for 2 of the kids, which affects the old people's sleep as well. Haha

Monday

They're eager to help with breakfast, but that's a challenge in a narrow kitchen. We built the apartment with hand-me-downs and repurposed items. The kitchen is no exception. We found the $500 secondhand IKEA cabinets plus a $20 Ikea side table on Craigslist. The Advantium oven and fridge were gifted after a friend's kitchen remodel. It's just enough for us, decorated with grandchildren's art. I pull an induction burner out of the cupboard when we need a stove.

After waffles for breakfast, the kids play around with their new toys and read their new books. They have a whole set of playthings that stay in the basement year after year. It's fun to watch the kids rediscover their trucks and dolls and books. As one child outgrows an item, the next enjoys it.

My first of 3 online meetings starts at 10:00 a.m. Opa walks the foursome to the park nearby. On the way home, Isaac plucks a flower for me. I push the stem into the beak of his rooster "tea" creamer.

When my husband's mother moved into a care home, she gave us back a Fitz&Floyd tea set called "Reigning Cats and Dogs." I make the tea in it and pour it into each child's animal creamer. They pour their own tea into miniature china cups and saucers from my mom. We remind them who gave us the things we enjoy. It brings Grandmama and OmaK closer.

I refill their white porcelain creamers many times. Besides Isaac's rooster, Kinsey has a cat; Levi has a cow; Makenna has a little dog.

At noon, it's time for the second meeting. Today, each session feels hand-picked. The information encourages, builds, and mentors us. (At least, I hope others get as much from them as I do.)

The lunch meeting is a monthly event of women. Our leadership mentors have exceptional skills to pass along. I also sign up for a November webinar on Mental Health. Many leaders are struggling themselves or trying to figure out how to care for those they serve.

I take a short snooze while W heads out to the Apple store for computer repairs. He eats supper with the kids and grands while I'm asleep. After the alarm rings, I make leftovers for my supper. While I eat at the beginning of Meeting 3, I turn off the video feed. Then, seeing the faces of 5 outstanding women whom I love and admire, I'm refreshed. We're done after 8:00 but I read before bed to unwind.

It's been a rugged year. Besides COVID stressors that everyone has, our groups and families have experienced grief (Dad's death), trauma (illness), and good and hard transitions. It all adds up. We are so glad God is near.

"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," says the psalm writer, "I will fear no evil for you are with me." There are all kinds of deaths. Physical, cultural, social, vocational, and emotional challenges take their toll.

Yet we are the most blessed of creatures: God knows each of our names and each of our circumstances. Scripture says he loves his children with an everlasting love.

Tuesday

This morning, Isaac's flower has perked up. I take a picture to thank him for thinking of his Oma.

I go shopping in the morning all by myself. WOW. It's a treat. I have time for 2 discount shops, side by side, and buy a few personal comforts: makeup, a pine-y essential oil to remind me of the Pacific NW at Christmas, and press-on nail polish to give as gifts.

The suitcases are filling up. After our annual trips, we load 2 suitcases each for Indonesia. There's not much room after we pack necessities but we choose things that are useful (tech gear anyone?!) or things that provide a touch of home when we feel lonely or far away from our roots. Favorite chocolate. Tea. Sturdy new shoes. Light brown eyebrow pencils. You get the picture.

Keelee and I talk online for two hours, catching up on what God is doing around us. Connecting with such artistic, multi-gifted, and experienced  peers - plus they're NICE people - is amazing. We ask, "Have you thought about ... ?" "What if ... ?" "I''ve tried ...  . Have you ... ?" I thrive on the ideas and prayers that buzz between us.

The grandkids come down for a quick visit before their evening jujitsu class. W and I are weary and ready for an early night.

Read more:

*The Lord waits to be gracious to you. Isaiah 30:18

*But while the son was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20

*The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

And he is the head of the body, the Church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the Good News that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Colossians 1:15-23 (NIV) 

Moravian Prayer: Father God, your dogged grace overwhelms us. You see us when we’re far off. You run to us. You put your arms around us. You “kiss” us. How does waiting fit into all this? What does waiting teach us about your grace? We wait for you. We trust you today to take care of us. Amen.