ok, so houston. before meeting my newest friends, i drove into houston against the evening rush-hour traffic. i took a quick spin through the downtown area. i think it's fun seeing cities while approaching them, and then seeing them from within too.
blur
even as a civil engineer, i'm so fascinated by the height of buildings in our cities. my van may as well be considered a matchbox car in comparison to skyscrapers...
after my little free self-guided uninformed unbiased driving tour through downtown houston (wysiwyg style?), i went looking for the house of david, elizabeth and maddy, my weekend hosts. greeted with warm welcome and hospitality i immediately felt like i was at home with these people whom i had only just met. i was referred to them by my friend, laura in my philadelphia church who had grown up in houston. i also got to meet dustin and ashley and betsy and jillian... wow, it was like some kind of twilight zone episode where i encountered a nucleus of awesome people, as though that was where they were spawning.
seriously, these people were amazing and so much about the house and household and friends embodied elements which define home for me. like (in no particular order) backwards plumbing installations, welcoming people you've never met, sitting on kitchen counters (these folks purchased their kitchen counters with sitting comfort specifically in mind!), respect, sleeping in, intent listening, not eating alone, loving humor, deep meaningful conversations ... yeah, the conversations - wow. they were fun, deep, real, safe, healing... so great.
i spent a mere (way to short!) two days and three nights at their house. just the fact that they let me in to begin with says a lot about them, given that i'd gone eleven days and ten nights consecutive without showering or changing clothes much. the night before i had spilled pear juice on my lap when the can opener slipped. plus i had recently been sweaty and sandy from playing on the beach. oh yes, it felt so great to take a shower and sleep on a real bed.
my hosts, friends, family.
dustin and ashley took me out to their favorite smoothie place, smoothie king.
the excitement and satisfaction is written all over our faces!
and guess what, dustin Loves frisbee and Loves puzzle challenges... needless to say, we clicked immediately and began to behave almost like two little boys wanting to play together. haha! i showed him my 'difficult' metal nail puzzle which he worked on with delight and solved with impressive control. we even went to barnes and noble to search for new puzzles. we looked for the hardest ones. he bought one for himself and bought one for me too! yes!! this is the one i picked out.
the goal was to remove the ring from the chain. it was an enjoyable challenge which i tackled before going to sleep. i couldn't figure it out for a while, but was too curious to put it down. with much satisfaction i finally solved it and then got some sweet victorious sleep. oh, how i love puzzles!
we were going to throw a frisbee, but it was a bit too chilly. instead, we ended up stopping by to look at a house that their friends were building. it was basically just in the framework stage, but it was really taking shape! when we got there, the family was dispersed within. they were writing verses on the 2x4s and plywood walls. when the house is complete, they'll remember what's written within the walls. pretty fun! they were a Really fun family (more spawning i suppose!). they handed us sharpies and bibles, and we joined the ceremony : ) i wrote out psalm 100:
make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
serve the Lord with gladness!
come into his presence with singing!
know that the Lord, he is God!
it is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
give thanks to him;
bless his name!
for the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
one of the kids wrote out colossians 3:12 on a post that will eventually be part of her bedroom closet ("... clothe yourselves with compassion..."
how fun!
and there's still more to share... elizabeth thought of her friend betsy as someone who i'd really be able to connect with. yup, yet another incredible person. c'mon, this is too overwhelming! : ) when i visited the tallowood baptist church for one of their services, betsy and her sweet jillian were kind enough to wait and meet me in the forier so i wouldn't have to walk in alone. it's kind of fun that the first thing we did together was worship the god who created friendship and is our purest definition of Friend.
i hope this friendship is just at it's beginning. have you ever been in the presence of someone who is so real, that you feel undeserving of their personal attention? when you recognize that only a limited number of people get to have their attention, how could you possibly be deserve to be numbered among them? well, i have felt that way on a few occasions, and indeed one of them was with betsy.
so was that weekend just a dream? if so, it was a sweet one. and if so, then i can't explain where i got the extra water and treats and gift cards and puzzle and personalized paper towel (yes, with my name hand-stitched within - thanks maddy!) that are now in my van. ... what a great weekend. there's so much i've left out. and look, my attempt to merely summarize it has turned into what's probably my longest blog post so far. so good. so good.
lastly, on my way out of houston, i stopped in at one of laura's favorite cafes. agora. i liked it! : )
I keep trying to make Houston a stop on the way to colorado springs, but I don't think it will happen. I am looking through your blog at mojave & death valley, and had to reread your Houston post, too. I hope you have been able to reconnect with some of these amazing friends.
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