Alien Drums

A quent little restaurant in a charming little town can be the scene of a very special encounter. My wife and I met another couple in such a place a couple of weekends ago.  It’s in a town in the deep woods of East Texas that is hardly even a town. Edom is more like a crossroads than a town. No slight intended; I’m just trying to be true to the story.

We met for breakfast. Almost three hours later, we said goodbye but probably should have just ordered lunch.

Why was this a special encounter? More than one reason could apply, but I will highlight two.

First, it’s nice to just share time in conversation and caring with two other folks. You’re sitting there with your life-partner with two others who are life-partners. You talk as four, but you also talk as two because each couple shares so much joint history. Such conversation is one of the finer joys of life.

The four of us also share something else in common. We’re all seeking to be followers of Christ. One of us is pretty traditional but still hsa deep sense of disconnectedness — pardon the cumbersome word, and there’s another — regarding the faith walk. The other three of us could not be described as traditional, at least not in an evangelical sense. We’re not thinking new thoughts, because after 2,000 of Christian history it’s really hard to come up with anything new; but we’re moving outside the dominant evangelical Christian approach to viewing God and His relationship to us. I believe our two friends would accept that description.

And it was this common and uncommon faith that provoked much of the conversation; that’s the second thing that made the encounter special. It is deeply rewarding to discuss with others the most important things of reality, even when you don’t agree on everything. And, I must add, it was a completely civil and decent conversation. Some tears were shed, but they were not tears of hurt or anger but of emotion, an emotion that arises out of deep feeling and care.

Treasures like this are part of what makes life like the burning bush of Exodus. God’s fire burns in the encounter and you get a sense that the divine is speaking to you through the ordinary. Holy ground. But we didn’t take our shoes off; maybe we should have.