Friday February 5, 4:40pm
I’m sitting in my new hang out spot – Wake Up – with Alece (more on that later) beside me click click clicking away at her keyboard with earphones in.
I don’t have earphones – and I don’t have noisy keys (thanks to Steve Jobs) and I can’t help but hear what’s going on around me.
This blonde just walked in on the phone saying loudly: “What are you talking about??! Say what you’re trying to say to me!”
My mind is spinning with scenarios of what the person on the other end of the phone might be saying to her. I have my theories. I wanna ask Alece what she thinks is going on with this lady’s conversation. But those dang earphones… Oh well. Maybe I’ll just write a blog post about it. Maybe y’all will have ideas.
Do you? What do you think this convo could be about?
I don’t think I have the mental gusto to take y’all through all the details, but I’ve only written a fraction of the frustration and confusion of our house-buying on the blog. I just haven’t wanted my little corner of the net to focus on all that all the time.
I didn’t want ME to focus on all that all the time.
I ran into my realtor Wednesday afternoon. We stood there for a moment, lamenting the madness that has taken over this process. He used words like “nightmare” “never seen anything like this before” “unreal” and “incomprehensible.” My realtor is as dumbfounded and frustrated as we are.
BUT, even in the latest wave of dumbfoundification, he managed to get everyone on the same page for closing on Wednesday, Feb. 10th. (I told him I’d believe it when I walk in the meeting to sign the papers. He understood.)
And if our closing date is delayed by even ONE DAY, our loan approval will expire and we will be forced to start the loan application process all over again, tacking weeks onto this already mindblowingly long process.
So, friends, if you think of me and my corner of the world over the next few days, say a quick prayer. Or three.
I presented this song during our Songwriter’s Circle last night. They provided some interesting feedback, which made me wonder:
What would YOU think about this?
No eternal tone
will sing my soul
without the ietting go.No joy in the pain
by faith sustained
without the letting go.I will bring
this mystery
of letting go.
the letting go.no forsaken sin
taken from my hands
without the letting go.No pardon or peace
within my reach
without the letting go.I will bring
this mystery
of letting go.
The letting go.I surrender.
I surrender.
I’m letting go.
Letting go
for you.
It’s true. My husband doesn’t really like music at all. His favorite radio station? NPR – when they aren’t playing music!
In his words: “If someone called me up and said that some band named U2 was playing a free concert in our area and I was the only person invited to the concert, I still wouldn’t go. Even if I didn’t have anything to do that day. I’d rather stay home & read.”
I know.
I KNOW!
How in the WORLD did I EVER fall in love with a music-hater??!!?
Well, it’s simple: What he lacks in musical passion, he more-than-makes-up-for in personality, talent, sense of humor, charm, faith, maturity, sensitivity, wisdom, and responsibility.
Yeah, he’d rather have silence than music. But I’d rather have him than a musician.
One of the most valuable aspects of being a part of the local church is being a part of a community of believers – a family of faith. This little community on the coast of Georgia has drilled and hugged and prayed that concept into me. And it will always be a deep and most significant part of how I approach the local church. This is one of the reasons why I love The Chapel, our new church home. As I get to know this church, I’me overwhelmed by the people here – they are so embracing and energetic. They are serious about church and serious about their faith. They inspire me.
We’ve been back in Glynn County for about 6 weeks now, but last night was the first time I visited our “old” church on St. Simons Island. They hosted a powerful night of worship. I was overtaken by hugs as soon as I walked in the door. It was like returning home. Wait. It WAS returning home.
By the time the night was coming to a close, I realized that I shouldn’t feel guilty about that lump that swelled in my throat, because it’s not a reflection of our current church family. It’s a reflection of our old church family. I still love them and they still love me. And I should brace myself for the grieving – the letting go – the fact that I won’t see them every Sunday. It’s not the church building or even the worship service or anything like that. It’s the people. It’s the relationships. It’s the family of faith.
I kinda feel like I did when I got married. When I became a part of a “new” family. We all celebrated. But we cried.
And that’s the right way for this to happen:
Thank you for your hugs and prayers. Thank you for encouraging me and for cheering as we fully dive into our new church family that we already love so much. I will miss y’all terribly. But will see you often. I’m just across the causeway…
Everybody hurts.
What we do with that pain is what really makes a difference.
Well…
As of yesterday, THE house is under contract! (big grin!!!!)
Drew wanted to go by the place after work yesterday. Even though I only had 1 1/2 hour break to grab dinner, plan a mini-talk, and head to worship practice, I consented. Chalking it up to his sentimentality.
As he opens the door he says, “Take your shoes off.”
“What?”
I look in and see brand new carpet and paint. And my eyes just well up with tears right there. It’s “move-in” ready, so we can paint the rooms along and along. We won’t have to do the HOURS and HOURS of painting the walls and staining the floor. We can just move in.
Two nights ago I attended my first Songwriters Circle (it’s one thing to post a song here and ask for feedback, it’s another to play it live in front of 5 other amazingly talented people and brace myself for their input). This quote came from one of my dear friends, Cyle, who is a member of the group. I can’t even begin to tell you how true this is of my own life.
I think that all artists, regardless of degree of talent, are a painful, paradoxical combination of certainty and uncertainty, of arrogance and humility, constantly in need of reassurance, and yet with a stubborn streak of faith in their validity, no matter what. ~ Madeleine L’Engle A Circle of Quiet, The Crosswicks Journal: Book One
If I’ve learned ANYTHING by taking advantage of the insightful input from all of you, it’s two things:
1) I’m not always right.
2) Y’all hear things that I don’t hear.
When I first posted this song last year, I got a message from Mark Thomas saying he’d love to get producer his hands on it. A few months and a few other musicians later, this is what blows up my inbox:
Thanks Mark & Josh! Now, if I could just write some more songs for these Denver boys to play around with!!
