Emily is inspecting the less-than-clean dishes coming out of the dishwasher and Amanda is stirring a pot of aromatic stew. Christy is chopping basil and telling stories. All three instantly stop to inquire about my day. How was your Burma meeting? Did you talk to Dr. Eby? How good it feels for others to know the details. Heather sweeps in moments later, for hellos, before she switches bags and sweeps out. Julie will return a few minutes later, tired and wet from swimming practice, cold and windblown from bike-riding home. We are faithful to get our daily hug needs met.
Our reports and updates will lead us to the table where dinner will naturally be shared as we share about our days and we’ll spend time we don’t have enjoying food and each other and God’s abundance. Ideas breathe in and out of our group as we seek to ask the right questions and struggle to answer the hardest ones. We’re in and out of talking about immigrants and refugees, our inevitable social disconnect, what it means to subvert the empire, our need for each other, our need for fudge brownies from time to time, the importance of the church, our anger at the church, the importance of forgiveness, what it means to practice resurrection--please pass the biscuits--the question of fair-trade, how inexpensive groceries were this month, the most recent news about seasonal vegetables, the most recent news about the global food price crisis, the most recent news about Burma--would anyone like some tea?--our fear of student loans, our dreams about the future despite the student loans, all of our bottled up potential, and the faithfulness of God. After dinner and tea and cleaning up, we drift to the living room, checking emails, half-working, half-listening; each person has something to tell.
We are storytellers and students in this house; our classes are sometimes our “extracurriculars” and our passions always take precedence. We recover and celebrate with Amanda from the hard work she put in campaigning for the election. We are encouraged with Emily when we talk about the immigrants she works with at SEED. We brainstorm and plan events with Heather for Human Rights Awareness. We support Christy’s passion for the innercity and Camden and her kids there. We cheer for Julie at swim meets. We are hard workers, avid baked oatmeal makers and eaters, deep thinkers, sometimes singers, always goofy, always prayerful, and in all ways complete together.
The evening winds down, we discuss how to best meet the needs of homeless people on the streets in cities, we brush our teeth, we print papers, we read scripture, we have pillow talk, we discuss shower rotations, we set alarm clocks, and we are thankful.
How good it feels to be we.
