Fabulous Fall Pt.- 3 The Jolly Journey

God has blessed me till I over flowed and then some more

(This picture was taken at a memorable White Elephant Party in which I mistook the popuri for snack mix...yum.)

with friends that are so good to me, and for, me that I am not going to embark on the frustration of trying to describe it or I might faint with aggravation, so let me just give you a few examples!

As I approached my 22nd year of life I was in the practice rooms with the lights out, praying about how I wanted Jesus to be involved in various parts of my life, inviting him to come bring his light and peace, and just to hang out as it were in all my relationships and such. When the clock's hands were straight up I heard someone wispering outside my door "No wait, guys, I see her stuff in there!" and I opened the door to a lot of scrambling and a lighter, a DD bag, a Large Jesus candle and the sound of "Happy Birthday"

as my friends lit the only candle they could find and presented me with a chocolate cake doughnut. Does God answer prayers or what?

Later that weekend I embarked on the long awaited ice-skating birthday celebration I'd been planning for some time. A huge bouquet of the beautiful flowers of my life, in their many personalities and characters, joined me at the school and we set off for the alleged time of our lives. Being a bit distracted that week I casually tossed all preparation such as directions, hours of operations, and transportation to the wind. All of us were ecstatic about skating, and we had five first time skaters with us, making the anticipation even greater!

After a ridiculously long wait in the cold we set off on the bus which eventually took us to a stop a 25 min walk from the rink. It was a bittter evening, and my friends were scrabbling with their iphones to find the map, since I had taken no precautions in that area. While walking we passed a T stop about 2 minutes away from the rink, meaning that I'd made them walk for nothing. When we finally arrived, not only was it closed, but they'd not even layed ice in the rink yet! It was now late, the sunday before finals and everyone had lost 2 hours of study time for a freezing walk in the snow.

As we headed back to the T I was soggy with apology. I could hardly believe I'd done that to them. As we turned back however, my friends simply broke out in "Happy Birthday" and listed the reasons they were glad to have come on the adventure. God has made some good people indeed!

A more specific example is the beautiful young girl in the dorm room next to mine whom I met last semester.

(Sofi Isaiah and I, the three musketeers, waiting for breakfast after a 4am recording session)

She invited me to go out of town with her to stay some friends of her family in one of those alleged places we only hear tell of in college: a “home.” I accepted her invitation and we embarked on the first of many late night excursions on the T to a little piece of Heaven on Earth. The family we stayed with, the Saints, live 40 min. from Boston in a quaint suburb. They press wine and brew beer, he’s a carpenter and she did stained glass for the Met in NY and such places. She ran away from home at 17 and he spent 5 years in the woods after High School.

Now they live in a beautiful home where sunbeams dance through the dogwood branches and window panes onto their grand piano and hard wood floors. Next to their house is Grace Church, where both of them are ministers. Well, where both of them are THE ministers.

It’s a small chapel that they cut the timber for by hand. Between his carpentry and her stained glass, entering it is one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had. Every square foot has ornate meaning. To enter the chapel is to enter the physical manifestation of their love and appreciation for God. As I swam in the peace of the sanctuary under the rainbow beams warming the frozen Bible figures as they pushed through them, I realized the glory of sharing the thoughts of your spirit with those around you. I was deeply impacted by the freedom with which they shared the gifts they had been given and was inspired to stop analyzing my abilities and my faults before sharing with those around me. That Sunday I played in church and resolved to continue being less wary of sharing my gifts. It was a precious lesson, but it was only the beginning. My moments with Sofi in that place, and then beyond, when piled all together form a huge tower of truth and growth trickling with tears of laughter. It was in the Saint’s kitchen that I wet my pants from laughter for the first time in a long while J and it was in their living room that I spent thanks giving swing dancing into the early hours of the night. I appreciate their unprecedented hospitality more than I can describe!

Sofi’s passion for life is incredible. Every moment is an adventure for her and she is consistently living in the present rather than the past or the future.

Her name is completely fulfilled in its very essence as a source of wisdom for me. I think the most precious lesson I learned from her this semester is to live a dance of gratitude for everything I go through rather than analyzing each moment. I mark that epiphany as another turning point in my semester and from then have felt a seed of childish joy re-growing within me.

Alright. Now that I’ve completely typed away any chance of people reading everything I wrote, I’ll shut up! Thank you for reading despite my long-windedness! I hope you found some mental nourishment to snack on and I hope you choose to live to the fullest potential possible, enjoying the ride along the way!