Pulled Pork and Holy Conversations

I asked him if it was very hard to travel away from his monastic community in France.  “Do you experience culture shock when you visit America?”  Brother Emmanuel smiled and said, “I’ve learned how to adjust but I stayed in Taizé for twenty-two years before I ever traveled anywhere alone.  The first time I was asked to go on a trip by myself I refused.  I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to renew my love relationship with God each day.  Every day I fall in love with God again and renew the commitment I’ve made.  How would I be able to do that away from the order and silence of our community?  I soon realized that one minute with God on a subway and another minute with God in an elevator can add up to many minutes with God throughout the day.  This is how I stay in love with God when I travel.” 

We were standing in line waiting for barbeque and I had asked a simple polite question to pass the time.   I wasn't expecting to dive right into deep conversation because, well, we were waiting for barbeque. 

You mean that every day you fall in love with God all over again?  Every day you renew your vows?  Not once a year or once a week?  Every day? 

I told him that it was hard for me to find time to be alone with God.  I try to get up early in the morning before my husband and children start their days.  I love those times when the house is quiet and I drink my coffee, read scripture, and talk to God.  But I don’t get up every morning.  Sometimes I just press snooze.  Falling in love with God every day just doesn’t seem possible when you have three kids and a job and you know, all those things to do.

“You can learn to love God well while you practice loving your children and your husband and everyone else you meet each day.  God is in them and God is in you and you learn to love God by loving God’s beloved children.  Loving God also helps you love your children.  It goes both ways.”

That is what he said while we filled our plates with potato salad and coleslaw. 

Isn’t this how the Spirit works?  You jump in line for barbeque and the next thing you know God is pounding on your heart saying, “Did you hear that?! Love them well and you love me well!!” 

 We can’t separate the mundane from the holy.  Simple tasks like sharing meals with strangers can be the very thing that brings us closer to God.  You really never know when God might show up and stop you in your tracks.  I thought I was just going to have dinner at a friend’s house with a few of the Taizé Brothers who were visiting Shenandoah this week.  I didn’t know I was going to have big important life altering things dropped into my heart while I waited for pulled pork.  And all the saints said, "Thank you, God, for barbeque."

Oh, and Saturday I had the best conversation with Shane Claiborne at my kitchen table over pancakes and orange juice about the death penalty and Christians standing up for justice.  I think that holy conversations often surprise us in their ordinary surroundings.

My crew with Brothers John, Emile, and Emmanuel