So I've been looking into something...making a dangerous promise...a dangerous commitment to growing in a deepening spirituality and grace. I have a "suggested reading list", and I dusted off my library card this morning. Normally, I'd hit amazon.com so I could own, and mark up, the books I'm reading. But times are tight, so I'll wait on actually owning. This will be interesting...taking in this reading without that option of highlighting and making notes actually in the books.
So I roll into the library parking lot, and a guy yells out to me, "JERSEY!" It's a neighbor from when we first moved in. He's since moved across town and I run into him sporadically. My name is "jersey" to him. He's a disabled vet from NJ...somewhere over by Philadelphia...Camden maybe. He had just gotten out of physical therapy, and had been advised not to walk the mile or so home. He couldn't remember the number of one of "his ladies" ;), so I offered him a ride home. It was nothing. A nothing gesture. But it felt graceful, and we had the chance to catch up for a minute or two. I was anxious to get into the library and scrounge up some more Nouwen and some Merton to read, but the detour ended up being a really graceful moment for me. I felt pretty priveleged to be able to offer a simple "nothing" thing that was presented to me as an opportunity to help this guy who needed and appreciated it so much. I am blessed by the unexpected.
1 comment:
I really liked your writing, although the black background with white letters is now messing with my mind as leave this comment. Hope you are well, my friend. I do not have "Waters" but own "Sign of Jonas" and a few other Merton books. If you ever want/need anything from the RC library (or Hollins), I can check it out for like 3 mos. We may have more spirituality stuff than the local pub lib.
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