Prayer, hospitality, school preparation (or the lack thereof) and more (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

Six or seven years ago, one of my friends suggested we form a prayer group of a few women. Since then, the group has evolved and added a couple members, but the focus has stayed the same. We’ve walked through joys and sorrows together, praying together through all of it.

One of the things I love about the group is that we don’t really offer advice. We simply listen and support and share. And then we pray. When we can’t come together in person—or if prayer is needed more urgently—we text or email our intentions. And we pray from wherever we are.

Last night we gathered in person for the first time since before the start of the pandemic. And it was a tremendous source of comfort and strength, as if the world is beginning again—or perhaps never stopped.

~2~

As I was preparing to host the prayer group on our back deck, I was frantically assembling food in the kitchen, and John joked, “Is this about eating or praying?” And, of course, it’s about both—companionship and coming together and sharing.

You can pray without homemade guacamole and baked Brie, but I love trying to make people feel welcome with food and drink. I was thinking about hospitality, how God calls us to open ourselves up to connect with others. I thought I knew what that meant, as I slipped a tray of brownies into the oven.

Then, halfway through our evening together, the doorbell rang.

“Is that something from Amazon?” I said to the boys as I went to check. But it was a neighbor from down the street—a neighbor I’ve never met who had locked herself out of the house while mowing her lawn. No one nearby had a key, and her husband and son were out of the country.

I found an emergency locksmith and let her use my phone to arrange for him to come and help. Then, while I returned to my prayer group, John spent time with her to make sure she was OK and just to make her feel welcome. We both offered food and drink and invited her to stay and visit, but she didn’t want to impose.

I keep thinking that maybe I could have done more to make her feel welcome and included. But maybe it was enough to offer hospitality and let her accept what she wanted to at that moment.

And maybe our conversations last night were a sort of a beginning. You never know what will happen when you answer the door.

~3~

We have made absolutely no progress with gathering school supplies for the new school year. And the children go to bed later every night.

The other night I looked at the clock and was so exasperated. I said mostly to myself, “How are we ever going to be ready for the school year to start if we don’t go to bed until after 11:00?”

Our younger son grinned and said, “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

And I just started laughing. Because that seems like our general approach to getting ready for school. That’s true every August around here.

~4~

All I have done to prepare for school is order extra masks for the children and buy a phone for our younger son. When our older son was starting sixth grade, I didn’t think he needed one. Then he started school, and I found out that if he forgot his lunch or trumpet or wanted to stay late after school for a club, he couldn’t just ask to use a phone in the school office. Apparently, those aren’t emergencies, which I understand. From an official perspective, they’re not. But, I still remember being a child, and I know forgetting something you need can be an emergency.

So, just a few days into the school year, I got our son a phone—one he could use to text me since it’s hard for me to take calls during the day while I’m working. It is entirely for my convenience and peace of mind, and it’s been completely worth it to me. We set rules, keep an eye on things, and it’s worked well for our family.

Since then, his younger brother has been counting the days to getting his own phone. And, with sixth grade just days away, now it’s his turn.

~5~

If a BLT is bacon, lettuce, and tomato, and a BALT is bacon, avocado, lettuce, and tomato, I assume a bacon, avocado, and tomato sandwich is called a BAT.

I made one the other day, and it was excellent. I highly recommend BATs.

Tomatoes in August are so good, and avocado and bacon are always delicious.

~6~

What did you learn this week? I discovered that if you need to hyperlink a piece of text, you can select it, hit control K and paste the link right in. Control K, control V, zip, zip, zip and done!

Yes. My life is that exciting.

~7~

We mark 10 years since the day we adopted our baby boy on Sunday. The weekend is our 11-year-old’s time to fill as he wishes (within pandemic parameters, of course). I can’t wait to see what meals he chooses and other requests he makes.

I hope to write a whole post about my feelings 10 years into life as a family of four. Bottom line, though: We are so very blessed, and I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.

Find more quick takes on Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, and have a wonderful week!

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