I had a nice time with a new friend yesterday. One of the ladies from the Communality Bible study I go to on Wednesday nights. She came over for "coffee" and we all know that that really means whatever smorgasbord of hot beverages a person can manage to lay out. I asked her if she wanted cocoa, coffee or tea...and she said "Cocoa, as long as it's sugar free!" I knew right then we'd be kindred spirits. So I made us a pot, and cracked open a packet of sugar free shortbread cookies. It was good. I counted the points.
Yes indeedy. I believe I blogged a few months back about giving up artificial sweeteners, and such. Well, I'm here to announce that reality land for Alana is that they are going to have to stay a part of my life. The sugar, honey, fructose, type of stuff, and various lower glycemic blends of various more natural sugars that exist still make me ill. And I just can't manage to NOT go for anything sweet ever. But I digress.
We drank some delightful hot cocoa and told each other our stories. I love hearing people's stories. Each one is unique, and each one is precious. But at the same time there are always some common human themes in the stories, and we share that human connection with each other. And when the person across the table is a Christian, there is an even greater bond.
Lisa told about how she came back to God at the mega Church my friends and I love to mock (God have mercy on me a sinner...), and about how she ended up sort of coming to the end of that place, moving on, and doing the whole "intentional living/simplicity/inner city/reach out to the poor" type of lifestyle choices together with her new faith community. I have so much to learn from friends like her because my heart yearns in similar directions (as far as outreach to the poor goes), but so often the bare facts of life prevent me from knowing what to do, doing, or having the energy or other resources to follow through with my desires.
I got to tell my story, too. All my Orthodox "weirdnesses", and how God brought me to this place I'm at. We compared notes on what it's like to be married to computer geeks. We chatted about her job. She's a Physician's Assistant.
And my favorite nugget of the day: Rolling her eyes she says "My beef against the whole Organics thing is...Well, it's not the people who are loading up on all those Kroger [conventionally grown] vegetables that are the ones that are coming in to the clinic with health issues, ya know."
Now THAT puts things in perspective.
Yes indeedy. I believe I blogged a few months back about giving up artificial sweeteners, and such. Well, I'm here to announce that reality land for Alana is that they are going to have to stay a part of my life. The sugar, honey, fructose, type of stuff, and various lower glycemic blends of various more natural sugars that exist still make me ill. And I just can't manage to NOT go for anything sweet ever. But I digress.
We drank some delightful hot cocoa and told each other our stories. I love hearing people's stories. Each one is unique, and each one is precious. But at the same time there are always some common human themes in the stories, and we share that human connection with each other. And when the person across the table is a Christian, there is an even greater bond.
Lisa told about how she came back to God at the mega Church my friends and I love to mock (God have mercy on me a sinner...), and about how she ended up sort of coming to the end of that place, moving on, and doing the whole "intentional living/simplicity/inner city/reach out to the poor" type of lifestyle choices together with her new faith community. I have so much to learn from friends like her because my heart yearns in similar directions (as far as outreach to the poor goes), but so often the bare facts of life prevent me from knowing what to do, doing, or having the energy or other resources to follow through with my desires.
I got to tell my story, too. All my Orthodox "weirdnesses", and how God brought me to this place I'm at. We compared notes on what it's like to be married to computer geeks. We chatted about her job. She's a Physician's Assistant.
And my favorite nugget of the day: Rolling her eyes she says "My beef against the whole Organics thing is...Well, it's not the people who are loading up on all those Kroger [conventionally grown] vegetables that are the ones that are coming in to the clinic with health issues, ya know."
Now THAT puts things in perspective.
Comments
Glad you found a friend! That's always a good thing.