On Friday afternoon I went to see a friend and we had the best visit we've had in years. The past few visits have left me wondering whether to continue the friendship, but this one reminded me of why I like her so much. So that was nice.
I then spent Friday night-Sunday afternoon in Northfield at a mini-reunion for the Carleton Christian community. It was wonderful. I enjoyed seeing old friends, some of whom I haven't seen in almost a decade. We told stories of how God had worked in our lives when we were in college. It was good to be reminded; I'd forgotten a lot. And the current students seemed very interested in hearing our stories. I also found it incredibly encouraging to talk with the students and hear what God is doing there now. As I told them, "we were praying for you 14 years ago and it is just incredible to get to meet you and see how God is working at Carleton now."
I realized that my earlier post about the retreat (where I spoke negatively about the people I was told to invite to be on the discussion panel) was unfair to my friends. I was speaking out of my own insecurities, which embarasses me. So if any of you find my blog, please don't take it personally. There were a few uncomfortable moments, as the organizer kept talking about how the "progressive Christian" group was causing problems with the evangelicals & how liberal & bad they were. But talking with a recent grad about this showed me that this was not necessarily a wide-spread belief within the community.
Then on Sunday at church, a couple of us decided to ditch about 20 minutes in, so we went to get ice cream. The conversation & community certainly fed my spirit more than sitting in the pew for another hour would have. How lovely that God is just as present when I'm walking the labyrinth at Carleton, talking late into the night at a friend's house, or chatting over coffee and ice cream with others as when I'm sitting with everyone at a Sunday gathering.
All-in-all, I feel somewhat less on the edge of faith than I have for quite a while. The cliff-edge has been reinforced (or I have stepped back a foot or two) and I no longer feel in immanent danger of falling over.
Posted by rachel at October 10, 2005 12:54 PM
So glad to hear that you feel less danger of falling over! I know that moving even a foot or two back from the edge of things can make a world of difference.
Posted by: Heather at October 11, 2005 09:11 PM
I'm so glad it turned out to be a good weekend. It does feel good to find out that you're not the only one who has moved into a different place, especially when you're not sure it's the right place. But it sounds like you found yourself in good company. You are loved.
Posted by: Carla Barnhill at October 11, 2005 10:20 AM