There is something about seeing the Snake River Canyon...the mountains in the distance...and then Boise! Granted, it looks very different from San Anselmo, but, unlike San Anselmo, it looks like home.
I found myself feeling sad as we drove to San Jose - SFTS has been a place where I was exposed to God's fire and experienced some transformation. It was hard to leave...but also good to be on my way. You cannot stay on the mountaintop forever - life may be sustained and inspired by those mountaintop experiences, but life is lived back down in the community. As Jesus reminded the disciples after the experience of Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, you can't build houses and stay up there. You have to come down the mountain and live life.
The traffic was light on the drive from San Anselmo to San Jose (a rare gift). The San Jose airport is easy (even for me), and in no time we were waiting by our gate, where I witnessed the most amazing example of adaptability I've ever seen! There is a small flock of blackbirds living in Terminal B (poor things)! My heart broke when I saw them "imprisoned" in the terminal, but then I started watching these clever little birds. As soon as a human finished using the water fountain, a blackbird would fly over to the "birdbath" and get a drink and a splash (what the health department thinks of this is any one's guess). They navigate crowds with the agility of bats, and have an ample supply of crumbs under the seats in the gate waiting areas. And just when you could consider being annoyed by their sanitary habits (or lack thereof by human standards), one perches on the back of a seat and serenades you. I sure hope they are given some gentle assistance so they regain their freedom. But in the meantime, they remind all of us that, no matter where we are, there are ways to adapt, to survive, thrive - and sing! Although they lack the musical sophistication of my bird friends back in the Whole Foods parking lot in San Raphael, their clear, beautiful song lifted my heart.
Tomorrow I return to Boise First (just in time for the Annual Meeting). It will take me a long time to put my recent experiences into words. I pray that God may help me find my voice tomorrow, and that what I share may also be clear and lift the heart.
As you look back over your day, what is the one thing (of everything that happened today) that most opened your heart to love? What was the one thing that closed your heart down? And was there anything that made you want to "sing your song?" If so, what did you "sing" - and to whom?
I sang: "There is no place like home..."
With love and gratitude for traveling mercies,
Kim
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