Lent 41

Do not think that I have forgotten about today's God sighting.  As a matter of fact, I've known what my God sighting for today would be for quite some time.  However, most of the efforts of this day have been spent reading and preparing to write a paper for Church History that is due tomorrow (Tuesday...because I still haven't learned my lessons vis a vis procrastination).  That said, the paper gives me no real concern.  I'm sure that I will have written it by the time that it is due.  Alas, this does not pertain to my God sighting for the day.

My grandmother on my mother's side was born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania called Waynesboro that falls on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland.  Because of this, my mother—even though she herself was born and raised in Michigan—would spend many summers at her grandmother's house in Waynesboro.  During her time there, she made one particular friend who she managed to keep in contact with throughout her adult life.  In fact, I have vague, yet fond, memories of driving down to Waynesboro with my family to visit with this family friend.

However, as my life went on, they fell out of contact with each other (pretty much occasional phone calls and Christmas cards).  Yet when I first visited American University, my mom, knowing that Waynesboro is pretty much on the route to D.C., called her childhood friend up and my mom and I wound up getting invited to spend the night at her house on the way to D.C.  I don't think that I have driven with my mom between D.C. and Rochester once since then without at least meeting my mom's friend for dinner—although often staying the night at their (she has since gotten married) house.  Every time, I am absolutely floored by their hospitality.  Last night was an example of that.

Since my mom is in town, we made the drive up to Waynesboro yesterday after church to re-connect with them.  We had an fantastic afternoon of chit-chatting over wine and crackers and a delicious home-cooked steak dinner.  Of course, because they are so wonderful, we were able to spend the night there and return to the D.C. area this morning.  Choosing to attend American University for my undergraduate education has given me many blessings, and I consider being able to re-connect and visit with my mom's childhood friend and her family one of the greater blessings.

Today, I saw God in hospitality.