Sunday Best – August 1, 2021
This week I gathered with some dear friends for the first time in far too long, in a neighborhood where we all had deep roots. One couple had been married just around the corner, another met in the buildings we could see across the river, and a sister plus another loved one had lived within a block of our dining spot.
At one point in the evening, gathered around the table with three miraculous members of our next generation, time did a weird little accordion. We could see all the way back, through our own friendships and all of the other tables and all of the other conversations and all of the other stories, the ones we’d witnessed and the ones we’d missed. And we could see all the way forward, to the many times to come, in all different configurations of togetherness.
Not everyone was physically at the table, but everyone was present.
I’m not sure I grasp the theory of relativity, but every once in a while there is a whoosh of experience that gives us insight into something essential. Even when we feel like frayed little filaments, we are part of something more. Something that speeds up and slows down and twists and turns and connects in ways we can barely fathom.
Dear ones, may we appreciate the great fabric of time and space today, weaving us all together.
A PERFECT “WELCOME BACK” GIFT
Our book is already celebrating its first birthday!
If you find yourself wanting to reflect on this past year, or to contemplate better times to come, we hope you might consider turning to Month of Sundays, which can be found at all of your favorite booksellers. One friend recently mentioned that she’s bought a stack of books to gift as she begins to reconnect with loved ones who have been apart, as a way to say, “welcome back.”
Thank you to those who have supported this endeavor to date, where proceeds have allowed us to give more generously than usual to some of the most vital nonprofits around. We designed the book to be evergreen, and hope it will bring comfort and connection through times of ease and times of challenge alike.