Fourteenth day...

Attended Mercy Ministries today. Solid, grass-roots service to the community (read: mostly homeless community) in Poncey-Highland. The Presbyterian church across the street from the Majestic Diner on Ponce de Leon near Highland Ave. allows this ministry to use their Urban Ministries building most of the week. Sunday from 11a-...2pm there is Christian worship, breakfast, and a bible study where the talk is open for all to contribute and the topics and discussion are very practical and insightful. Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays provide ministry in the morning hours with breakfast, lunch, clothes, a place to hang out, bathrooms, addiction programs, and practical services like help getting a driver's license or apartment. Wednesday nights provide dinner. It isn't a "we are providing a service to the homeless" so much as a "we are providing services to the community" and the homeless folks make up the majority of the community members of this particular ministry (purposefully). They are always looking for donations of food or clothes - they run all on individual donations, no grants or federal dollars at work.

That night, I drove up to North Georgia for my retreat. As I began to rush from my car to the house, something very tiny made me stop before I took my second step. They were crisp stars. I took a more purposeful look and indulged in the soft, comfy moon - larger than normal because it was hanging so low in the sky (1st day of fall!); the misty, lackadaisical clouds; and the tiny, clear stars. Had I forgotten? Surely they had always looked like that? Then, the crisp night air caught my nose and played on my skin. That felt good too. The cicadas and crickets were singing a pleasant symphony that surrounded me. Lower from the sky, I could see outlines of pines and oaks, kudzu and the purple basil hedge that lined the sidewalk. A Japanese maple was silhouetted against the house. After my first thought, "exquisite beauty", the next unmeditated thought was: "This is home." Funny how that never leaves you.

Have a lovely week.