I met with my friend Connie yesterday.  Every couple weeks my two former Bible study leaders, Connie & Bonnie, and I go walking together and talk about life.  This week Bonnie couldn't make it and Connie didn't feel like walking, so the two of us just sat on her beautiful porch and conversed.

Connie is about twice my age, has grown children and grandchildren, is a skilled flower gardener, and loves birds. (she's even gotten hummingbirds to sit on her finger!)  And the mystery of her godly legacy and journey continues to unfold every time we meet.  (For example, this week I learned she used to be part of a clown ministry and still keeps her homemade 5-foot long Q-tip in her basement for sentimental reasons!)  I feel privileged to spend time with her.  Though I am blessed to have very insightful and gracious parents and in-laws, there's something special about a relationship unbent by biases or relational complications, an outsider who can see clearly in.

We talked of everything from birdhouses to weddings to sickness to God's ultimate plan for the world, and how faith fits into to it all.  We sat there for three hours just talking.  I was astounded when I saw the time, and thankful for this woman who would take out that time for me.

I have a lot of things to think through today, and some steps to take =)

"And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." -Titus 2:4-5