Thanks Ben...Words Left Me

I couldn't come up with any words to say it better than my friend Ben did.

I just want to share with you the wonderful community, family, that God has been gracious enough to let me be a part of since since living in Philly.  For me, it all started in Rome, GA and has found it's way up here.

In the beautiful words of Ben,...(check out his blog here)

Overflowing

“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…

…they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot…”

I am one of those who, like the song, all too often doesn’t recognize what I have until it is gone. I want to change that – I want to be mindful, thankful, and grateful as I admit that Yes, my cup is filled to the brim. One more drop, and it will overflow with the sweetness and bitterness, the joy and sorrow, the heart-stopping beauty that means you are alive and breathing and seeing.

I moved to Philadelphia in August, not expecting that I would find a family, a community that would surround me, laugh with me, speak into my life, and allow me to speak into theirs. I didn’t imagine their lives and mine would intertwine so quickly. And last night as we sat around the living room, sharing our highs and our lows of the past week, sharing a meal and laughter and music and prayer, something shifted in my heart, and I really saw those around me. In just a few short months, these (plus a few more) have become a part of me and my heart – my community.

I think that 90 percent of the time, I blunder through life unaware. Yet there are moments the veil is lifted, and the warm, rich, buttery light floods in and illuminates the darkness. My heart and my limbs thaw a little more, and the chill of frostbite that has me frozen recedes a little bit. Last night was one of those moments.

I saw men and women admitting their brokenness, doubt, and pain. I saw honesty and truth piercing the lies that would keep us apart. And I heard words of love, of hope, and of faith being spoken over each person there. Last night, spring came just a little bit closer for each of us – spring and the promise of new growth, of green, of life, of warmth, of dancing and rain and beauty. And I saw it.

My cup – my heart – my life – is overflowing. And I just want to shout it from the treetops – or at least sing it in the forest…

I hope everyone gets to experience this at least once.  God is so faithful.

Keep Posted,

the rave