antidote

last night i dreamed that some rather unappealing chef was my lover. it was disheartening, to say the least. i'm not into men with seriously tobacco-stained teeth and, to top it all off, dreams like that always leave me feeling gross and out of sorts.

in other, less icky news, i had some seriously good conversations with a couple of different women friends yesterday, feeling like some things were 'hashed out', if you will. i realized last night, as one of them was asking me what i like to do with my spare time, that what we were doing - in that moment - is one of my favorite activities: connecting with people one-on-one. if there's a meal or coffee involved, so much the better, but what i really enjoy is hearing about other people's lives, learning from their experiences, sharing insights, helping them, perhaps, with epiphanies i've had along the way. and all of it - the joy and the sorrow, the frustrations and triumphs - gets blended together in this beautiful melange called a life. and there, in the midst of every moment, is God, often quietly moving things along, clearing the path ahead, steering and staving, allowing and orchestrating, His hand always gentle (even in its power), His arms always open, His love always healing.

to share tears with a friend who has known and felt that love, even in the midst of devastation and heartache - that is the stuff....