Nearly 18 months ago, I wrote this in my journal…
3/7/11
It is the morning after a wonderful trip to Port Royal, KY to visit Mr. & Mrs. Wendell Berry. Today also marks the beginning of my 19th year as a follower of Jesus.
Katy, Sandra, Flo & I rode to their home for a 3-5 Sunday visit. We stopped for lunch with my mom at a Cracker Barrel on the way. There, she gave me two small birds for the boys and another Berry book from Dottie called Whitefoot: A Story From THE Center of THE World. I can’t wait to finish it.
From our time in their good company in an old house on the hillside, with llamas and wild turkeys just outside, a swollen river across the street, newly installed solar panels above, books lining every wall floor to ceiling, hot embers in the wood stove and simple gorgeous folk art all around — I now know:
*that I want to “serve my place” = home, yard, neighborhood, city and “let my place serve me.” Lord, show me ways to do just this.
*that God is the one who gives fruit; increases the harvest
*that love still is to be the one thing even/especially over education
*that the idea of a one-room school among friends elates and terrifies me and that the sacrifices that would be made for it would be plentiful
*that I too need to go-often-“to where the phone isn’t”
*that, as our boys grow, time on farms, chopping wood, building fires, reading, gardening, cooking, hiking and fishing is where I hope to guide them
*that slowing down really is attractive to me
*that “the burning of a lot of fuel” was worth it
*that the Slow Communication Movement and The Society for the Preservation of Tangibility are groups I want to remember, recruit for and find my way into. ;)
*that wounds from friends hurt so much
*that babies cry and mamas hate hearing
*that I really love helping make dreams come true
*that words of thanks mean a lot to me
*that God orchestrated every step of our trip right down to the soap purchased elsewhere but made with lavender from Flo’s garden
*that toil and trouble won’t be part of the redeemed creation; nor will awkward intros or mis-understood conversation
*that I want to support my family and create more of a home here
*that I “always hope” on days like yesterday / Is that love?
