These two photos are from the early evening soirée which had bubbled up from one of my 4am musings. YES! - my precious friends from Scotland are HERE and have been so since Wednesday, Sept. 7th! I will share a snippet of the incomparable JOYS in which I have reveled since their blessed arrival only days ago. There is often a slightly more fleshed out Gallery for you to muse over... via which if you're somewhat clever, you'll find a way to see even more photos, many taken by wonderful Stacey and her lovely artistic eye.
I sip tea. My heart murmurs and sighs. There had been a few coattail tuggings around my friends' presence here... to which I'd initially responded by clasping my territorial arms to my chest and saying as politely as possible, "Well, they flew 5000 miles to see me (me me me!)... and we're going to BE together as much as time and my funkomatic energy levels can manage." However that 4am musing Whom I call The Holy Spirit added, "Hey. You can loosen up a bit here. Find a very few ... ask Tony, Ali & Ruthie, would YOU enjoy a small gathering?" Yes. That is part of our depth of intimacy over the years; we ask, we "attune," I pray, we seek Godly agreement. I didn't want a raucous party of fifty. Small, quiet, intimate... some very close friends from St. Paul's and my Sunday Night Oikos Home Church. Our feasting danced far beyond the sumptuous delectables that adorned tables and laps.
The Moroccan-themed vacation home - my friends' holiday villa right on the lagoon - was bursting with Godly love. I didn't "do" this party. Jesus did. I had given it to Him from the start. With a sheer blessedness that defies my own controlling when I Let Go, The Lord's Grace arose and did so mightily!
Saturday, Sept. 10th... a celebration banquet amongst beloveds. At 4pm the first friends arrived, toting exotic IPAs and scrumptious food. Ruthie, Ali & Tony had set it all up and out "English Style" while I napped in the Master Bedroom. They worked; I recharged my energies. Whole Foods Novato had been giddily raided for the finest imported sheep milk cheeses, olives, fresh baguettes, Icelandic butter, organic Mexican chorizo, crudités with Toby's feta dip... and of course the homemade yums from our guests, from Kari's quiche to Stacey's fat & luscious farm stand strawberries. The dessert table winked with Dilettante truffles from Seattle (Chris & Alice!), double duty Oreos, Two-bite brownies, fresh organic fruit. Bevvies galore.
I mourn my bloated steroid face. Cheekbones Luboff has always been a source of Slavic pride for me. I don't look like myself today. I cried last night about that. And as the E-Ticket bliss of this heavenly visit slowly shifts to the awareness of their (sob!) departure on Wednesday, I look ahead to more doctors' appointments with more questions piling up. There are places between awakening each morning and saying, "O LORD! You have given me a new day!" with the left-brain need to know what in the billy blue blazes is going on. The earth and Heaven "balancing act" if you will shall continue without fear. I rebuke that dark side in the Name of Christ. And yes, it slithers in... sometimes so subtly I am caught off guard. I remember; this "life" of mine is not mine - it is GOD's. I am His. I breathe in that knowingness as often as my one strong lung can inhale His Grace.
Each day of this week is a Gift from God beyond compare, and to Him I give thanks and praise for the love that cascades all around me.
I am very happy for your past few days of communion with traveling friends and I hope their departure leaves a glow of kind recollection.
ReplyDeleteI continue to check your blog each day and will have at-will "Netcess" aboard ship in the coming week's Alaska Inner-passage cruise (departs Seattle on Sunday and returns the following Sunday).
I can only hope my Alaska journey will glimpse the majestic hope and joy that you have experienced these past few weeks.
Hang-in my dear and remember we are all walking together in this amazing journey called life.
Yours in hope and peace.
Randall in Salem, OR
What a wonderful, lovely week you've had, with blessed, precious friends! I hope that you've wallowed in bliss as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteThis is what being good to yourself looks like, with no fear, no "what-if"s, no darkness, just the love of friends, the smiles of the Divine and a thought of YOU DESERVE THIS! And you do. Being good to ourselves is so hard to do at times, for a lot of reasons (we're not supposed to, we're supposed to do for others, I'm not worth having a good time), but they're all just things that let us get in our own way. When you clear them out, as you have this week, then the blessings and love from the Divine just pour down and shine through. And why weep about your face? Your sweet spirit shines and makes you beautiful.
Wrap yourself in this amazing love and let it carry you. Remember, you're in all of our thoughts and prayers. May the Mother keep you well.
Hugs and blessings
Hello dear sister,
ReplyDeleteYou are loved around the world. And Above.