Real

Dear Summer 2010,

It's been real. Real busy. Real intense. Real eye-opening. Real note-worthy.

Two weddings, an ordination, a conference, three mission trips, the Bishop's Bluegrass festival, and a few days on mom and dad's couch. I am walking away having learned a great deal about myself. I've even managed to walk away with mental snapshots of several mountaintop experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I could go on and on about the depth of riches. Without a doubt, the most tremendous experience was time well spent with good people. Some of those people I have known nearly my whole life. Some I am still getting to know. Others I did not know until this summer. Without a doubt, each one of them are beloved. From different countries, through languages foreign to me, on streets I'd never traveled and in places where I've seen the seasons change throughout the years, through dances and lyrics and poetry all their own - each one of them offered me the same authentic gift. The freedom to be who I am, wherever I am, and still be loved. It is a gift beyond measure.

All in a few short months. I am in awe, still. Real sure this summer won't soon be forgotten.

So there it is. My understated and vastly inadequate summary of the last three months. And yet, I'm not sure I could say it any more pointedly. Things are ending and things are beginning again. My favorite day of the year is just around the corner - back to school shopping! Is there anything that beats wandering the aisles of meticulously organized pens, pencils, folders, and organizers? Just saying it out loud makes me want to be more organized! And if you know me well, you know that there's nary an inkling that makes my heart pitter faster. For the second time in my life (that I can remember) I will not be partaking in this most joyous of holidays. So kids, do me proud! Parents, do your children justice. Behind all of the plastic wrap and lengthy receipts is the hope of something much larger. The expectation of who your children will become, of what they can achieve - which won't be sent home in a report card. It is all about the relationships with people who make us who we are. While I won't be indulging in school supplies this year, rest assured that I have made a phone order with my alma mater and have the latest faculty publications showing up at my door step next week. I will continue to pretend that I am a student until the end of time. Not because I was good at it. But because I loved the quest - to know and to ask and to discover.

Because in the end that's what this great journey is all about, right? Discovering the hope in the promise of who we can become.

Summer 2010: check!