People On My Path

Sunday has been a steep relearning curve for me here in Florida.  Since I left in 2008 so many of the usual things have changed, and then an additional batch of things changed as well, so I returned to a home church that was in some ways unrecognizable. Certainly this church is larger than any I attended in Japan, and yet so much smaller than when I left. Many many staff changes including lead pastor, music pastor and church secretary occurred in the interim. We still have a large seasonal group who spend winters only in Florida and they have gradually been returning.

Reading Graham Orr's new book, Not So Secret has encouraged me to look at these changes in a different way than I have in the past, and I am able to begin coming to terms with some things. So, progress, I think.

Today before the service I saw a familiar face and was happy to greet a woman who had moved away from our area to Deland, FL. She has been a supporter for years and she and her late husband and family have been involved with missions for a long time.  She invited me to have lunch with her after church and I accepted. Now that I think about it, she is the first person to invite me to lunch after church since I'm back. So we ate and talked and caught up on each others activities for a couple of hours. Here is another person who is sensitive to where my head is these days and is truly interested. Wow, two in one week, how great is that?