FFM 2007 - Part 5

Saturday morning after worship and dozing through David Dark's lecture for lack of caffeine, I went to the parking lot. I went to the parking lot and waited. Liz had promised to be at worship that morning, and yet, she slept through it. I understand. It was early. It was a Saturday. She had been out the night before. I get it. Really, I do. Eventually she pulled up in her snazzy Honda, and we drove off. She called me Andy. She always calls me Andy. I hate being called Andy. She called me Andy once more. Just for good measure. Liz and I met in Kolkata back in 2005, and we've been keeping up ever since. This was my second trip down to Calvin, and since she lives in GR, this was my second time seeing her there. The last time I walked the entire East Beltline to meet her, not recognizing that no-one in Grand Rapids walks anywhere. No one except city-bound Canadians who don't own cars, and would opt for public transit, the bicycle, or pedestrian traffic should the two others be unavailable. Liz came to Canadia once and hung out with me, Lisa the Knitter and Doctor Chester, with whom she had roomed in the city of joy. We went to Little India, ate dinner on the traditional styrofoam plates, and snooped around for our fav Bollywood films. This day in GR we went for Ethiopian. My last Ethiopian food experience in Toronto had been lacklustre, but for some reason, Grand Rapids serves it in style, and full of taste. The sampler platter was amazing, and the tea pretty much rocked me. Thick, aromatic and spicy. It was incredible. So we sat there, face-to-face for the first time in about a year, and tried to catch up on everything. We got some of that done. Conversation covered range of thoughts, from Kolkata, to sustainability, to nursing homes. Weddings. Boyfriends. Conversions, the Missionaries of Charity, authentic worship, the beauty of tradition, weighing the alternate values of Catholic and Protestant expressions. What does it really mean to be evangelical? Is it possible to be evangelical and not scary? Is that a valid option? What does humble witness look like? Needless to say, it was exactly what I needed. Questions flying both ways. Good conversation. Inspiration. I think that's what conversations often become. They help us to break out of our own worlds, and connect with someone else's. That bridge, that connection to another perspective is nearly always inspirational, not because we agree - quite often because we disagree - but more because we have been taken to a new place, a new perspective, a new understanding of the world. That's how it was for me, anyhow. I can't guarantee that Liz was inspired, but I will certainly take credit if she was. And I will certainly take many good things away from this time catching up with the most amazing jesus-loving, tree-hugging, cheer-leading, protesting-catholic in all of Grand Rapids.