Face to Face
On May 23rd, I posted a notice here that I was going to be in Houston playing disc golf that Sunday. I invited anyone interested to join me. No one did, but I liked the idea that I might get to meet some of you face-to-face.
So last Saturday I mentioned that I was going to be in Austin yesterday and gave the same invitation.
I don’t normally “journal” here, but I’d like to put the essay compulsion aside for today and just tell you how it went in Austin.
It was great.
There isn’t much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversation with people you respect and love. You have to carve this time out of your life because you aren’t really living without it.
My friend Rick and I met at Katz for breakfast and talked for two-and-a-half hours. Rick is a minister in Austin. It was absolutely wonderful. I could have talked for another two hours. I met some very cool people at his church and had a stunning reunion with an old friend of mine. DG, thanks for the hug and the laugh.
The morning would have been enough, but Rick and I headed over to Bartholomew park at 2:30 pm to play disc golf and to see if anyone who reads Real Live Preacher would drop by to say hello.
Four people came, which was a HUGE compliment considering how hot it is at 2:30 in the afternoon. It’s brutally hot right now in Texas. Just painful.
We pulled into the parking lot and were looking at maps of the park, trying to find the first hole when S. came up and said, “I guess we’re all trying to find the preacher, huh?”
I hadn’t put on my hat yet.
I said, “No man, I’M the preacher.” And that’s how Real Live Preacher met his first real live person.
S’s wife is Salon blogger Rose of Charon. She showed up a few minutes later with these hilarious slips of paper that had a picture of my hat on them and the words, “Have you seen this hat?”
I guess she was going to hand them around if she couldn’t find me.
Two more bloggers came. They have their names on their blogs, so I guess I can mention them here. Kristen of In the Shadowlands and her husband Mike of This Classical Life.
Since I was the only one really passionate about disc golf, we decided to sit at a picnic table and talk for an hour or so. I’m glad we did. I can play disc golf anytime.
I have to tell you that it was wonderful to meet people face-to-face and talk about anything and everything. Sometimes when strangers meet like that, someone has to carry the conversation, asking a lot of questions and keeping things moving. I can do that and was prepared to, but there was no need.
Rose, S., Kristen, Mike, and Rick, thanks for the wonderful afternoon. You were a blessing.
Rick and I did play about 6 holes after everyone left, but I had one last thing to do so I had to leave.
I had an appointment to meet Kevin and his girlfriend Angie at 6pm for dinner. Kevin reads Real Live Preacher, and he and I have had some email conversations. Since he’s in Austin, we agreed to get together.
This conversation was especially sacred so I’m not going to talk about it much here, though they told me I could. Kevin is a passionate seeker of God who is considering the Christian path. Angie is a passionate Christian. They love each other. That’s plain to see.
Kevin and Angie, I came to love you in two hours. I pray that the Creator blesses you and keeps you safe. I pray the Creator’s own face shines upon you and brings you peace.
That’s all and that’s enough.
So that was the trip. It was a day well spent. Filchyboy is carrying on conversations about the nature of community right now on his blog. He wonders if we really have community on the Internet or if we are settling for a cheap imitation.
I think we take what we can get. I can’t meet Hugh Elliott in person right now. He lives too far away. Most of us can't have a "face-to-face." We just can’t. So we settle for email and maybe a phone call here and there. We settle, but that doesn’t mean we don’t wish we could have more.
Tuesday reminded me that Filchyboy is right in this respect. There is no substitute for an old fashioned, face-to-face friendship.
Thank God.
I'll tell you another thing. I want more of this. You can bet the next time I can carve out some time and I'm in another city, I'll let you know.
I'm looking forward to it.
rlp
9:41:33 AM 
|
