Heart warming, wonderful, lovely, embracing, fun, joy, magical, and busy, busy, busy!!! Those are a few words to describe my two weeks and three-day in Louisville, Boulder, Estes Park and the Rockies.
Quickly into the swing of things, our Butler Gulch hike, scheduled on Friday after I arrived Wednesday evening, was at the flower's peak and the water crossings' lower points. Taking a friend's "slow, slow, slow, water, water, water" caution, I did fine going from the trail's beginning at about 10,500 ft. to around 11,800. We stopped to exclaim over the flowers again and again, enjoy each other's company and "wow" at the flowers.
Yes, it's that same place, and I love it!!!
I was the guest of honor at two parties--both wonderful although the smaller one with friends from my prayer groups was easier for me to navigate because of overlapping interests and I had been in touch with most who were there during my almost year away. I would also see most of them individually so not everything needed to be said at the party.
What I was most surprised about and tried, though not always successfully, to absorb, were the many thank yous at both parties and individual get togethers--thank yous for little things that were often just what I did--encouraging and welcoming.
I mentioned in another post that several friends are dealing with the demise of their husbands, either mentally or physically or a bit of both. The attitudes ranged from "this is how I make it work for both of us" to "it's so frustrating, so hard" or in one case a "what can I expect" conversation based on my care-giving experience. Even more than when I lived there, I was a safe person with whom to share these concerns and frustrations.
My time with grandson Sam, though an entire day, didn't seem like enough as he was off for a vacation mid-way through my visit. He'd be more than unhappy with me should I post the cutest photo I took this visit so here is Sam with his dog, Lucy, taken on an earlier visit.
As always, my time in the mountains visiting and hiking with dear friends was nourishing and special. I was fortunate to have two hikes with my friend who now lives in California without which my summer would not have been complete and a great visit with the one who lives in Estes Park.
Several of my hikes with friends were done during three days when it misted, drizzled and rained. A friend insisted that I put his rain pants over my light-weight hiding pants which kept the chill as well as the rain away as we hiked down through the flower-lined trail from the 4th of July mines, stopped from going farther by rain clouds on the ground coming toward us. The next week I hiked a couple of times in beautiful weather so saw the views I only remembered on the other hikes. I was reminded that many of those views are available in memory!
There is so much to be grateful for--the incredible hospitality of my friends with whom I stayed, particularly those who were my home base, the generosity of the hostess and the host couples who planned and executed the parties so wonderfully and all who came, two Sunday mornings at St. John's, which is likely to always be "my church." My friend who loaned me her Prius to drive for nine days--amazing!
After a month away, I looked forward to seeing my son, and he was at the airport waiting. We had dinner together before he brought me home, and I was invited to dinner with them and grandson Will, who was home for a couple of days this past weekend. For those visits, I am grateful though those two-hours pass quickly.
I've written and deleted a list of what and why I miss Colorado. I've taken myself back to evenings when I would have liked companionship, times I was frustrated with my church, and in recent years, times I missed seeing grandson Sam as his life got busier. Life there wasn't perfect but the comparison makes me realize again how slowly one builds community, even when there are a few old friends living in the same city.
I'm still discerning whether to choose a church that most feeds me or to look for a congregation where I can serve. I've thought for years that my call to healing wasn't centered in a church community, that those I am called to minister to are outside of that fold, but in Boulder I found many in the pews. And is community the most important? Relationships with clergy? With healing as my ministry call, where is that best lived out?
Today I feel as if I'll continue the centering prayer group but concentrate on getting the memoir out to the pubic, updating my website, and ask the Spirit to show me where I'm not open, what I'm not seeing, where I can find companions on the spiritual journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment