Things have been nuts in my life lately, with preparing for the next trip to Guatemala, covering for a co-worker at the office, carving out extra time with the family, and the list goes on.  I went to visit Paula and Greg and their kids this weekend, spending some time on Saturday night and Sunday morning in Greentown, IN.  When they lived much closer, I’d run over to their house regularly and spend time having dinner, helping with stuff in the house, and always ending up sitting on the couch catching up.  We did that again this time, though in a different house on a different couch, and it was so good to be there with these friends.  I love the welcome of their home, the sounds of putting the kids to bed, the way I can find peace in the midst of their busy household.

And then there was church on Sunday morning.  Paula had written a song that she and Greg were to sing in their church, and it was so beautiful.  The way the words told of the love and mercy of our Lord, the “long awaited Lamb”, so touched my heart and drew me to a place of worship that I hadn’t expected in this church that isn’t my own.  There was an image in the song of the crucifixion followed by thousands upon thousands of angels singing in reverence and worship, and there was a thin barrier between that heavenly host and the voices lifting to God in a small, country church.  It was beautiful.

My time with them ended over lunch at Greg’s parents’ home, sitting around the table with the family, passing around the pot roast and potatoes, just like when I was a kid, coming home after church.  It was a peaceful oasis in the midst of life, and I am looking forward to the next.