And there it is...

We met again last night (as Tuesday night-meeting groups tend to do).  I wasn't sure how this week was going to go, since we were having a money/budget talk.  Things tend to get touchy when you go into the realm of finances, as has been told to me by several people in advance of this week.  And since we were missing people last week, I wasn't sure if we'd be playing to a full-ish house or if we were already experiencing attrition that would continue until it was just Sheila and me holding the tatters of what was once a promising group.

But then, people showed up: the faithful core I was sure would come.  And, later, those I thought had given up on us.  What was even more amazing was what some members were going through and STILL they came.  One member had a friend who was literally on her deathbed (he got the call that they were about to take her off lifesupport that night).  Another had a family member shot and killed over the weekend.  And I had my first first-hand experience of being with people who could give me insights into the differences between what TV reports as news and what real life looks like.  No easy answers, just a lot of pain, and a better glimpse at issues I've only dealt with in passing.  It truly felt sacred, in that God was there and He was opening my eyes and our hearts to step into that gap of being with our friends and praying through something that was truly foreign to many of us and our experience.  A foretaste, I think, of the journey to come.

One of the words I heard from God when Sheila and I were initially praying for this group was "Band of Brothers" (like the HBO miniseries by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks).  They bonded over and through battles and being with each other in the midst of whatever was flung their way. 

The challenge and invitation is to step in and not draw back, and to be present, truly present.

May it be so...