Dishes and lightning and fellowship suppers

By Mary

Hurricane season officially started in North Carolina this last week. As we drove to church for an evening service, the clouds rolled in thick and heavy and the darkest gray I've ever seen. Every morning I wake up to cloudy skies and rain by the afternoon. And even though it's put off my plans to explore the small beach within walking distance of our apartment, I love it.

Watching if fall while doing dishes at night with my husband is the best.

And they bring back so many precious memories-so many mad dashes outside when someone announced the falling rain. Singing worship songs while waiting out a storm in the mountains. Puddle jumping and Chinese fire drills on the forth of July, years ago. Driving around to Chik-Fil-A in a wonderfully leaky car...

But the memories that run across my mind when I stand in front of the sink and the lightning brightens the sky are from a little place in South Africa, so dear to my heart, where I learned to love doing dishes by hand and saw the most incredible lightning day after day and night after night. Every time I do the dishes or watch the lightning split the sky, part of me aches to be there again.

And yet, how wonderful to have been given each moment, each memory a moving picture in my mind full of the sights, the sounds, the exact feel of that instant. And how awesome that I have the gift of each new day. God still brings the rain and of course there's always more dishes. Not only am I blessed with the moments that are past, but with each new day--with more memories to be made, more life to enjoy and live for Him.

Then there's the completely new, certainly unique experiences that come from 1) a new marriage 2) being a Marine wife 3) living in the South 4) going to a baptist church in the South.

I love the church, though I have to admit, I think they abuse the poor amen word. And I haven't quite gotten used to the forever long greeting time. I like the men of the church randomly getting asked to pray and I like them teaching each week before Sunday school. And I'm officially a big fan of all the food-involving fellowship time (which happens a lot)

But it's a lot more than eating good food and running along with the rest of life. It's sharing food, yes, but sharing life, sharing good times, sharing problems.

I have a good store of memories here already. And I'm excited to see the things God has in store for the future.