Once again I find myself in my favorite coffee shop, the Mud House here in Springfield, MO. I don’t know what it is about this place; its one of the only places I can people-watch AND get some quality time in with my laptop or a good book. This is a place of peace for me - I know that I could pay this place’s light bill if I lived here.

On our holiday trip we’ve had some great conversations with family - with subjects ranging from Chicago plans (or plans still in the making) to living life with forgiveness and acceptance at the center of our lives. Both sides of our family have been through major traumas, and everyone (from great-grandparents to the newborns) have been drastically affected. Trina and I have found ourselves mainly as listeners, counselors, and coaches to our own family, and it has been extremely healing for us. We too need to be listened to. We too need to make peace with our family, and to be restful and REAL with who we are as an extended family together.

While most of this year has been jam-packed with life-altering forks in the road, the majority of this life is filled with moments like this. The simple movements of life that require little more than keeping our eyes open to where we are at the moment. Living honestly as we enjoy a cup of coffee, sitting quietly over in a corner of a busy coffeehouse. While we may have revolutionary dreams, those are the punctuations of a much longer sentence in our lives.

Right now at the end of 2007, I’m just thankful to be spending time here in a warm, enjoyable coffee shop, with little else to think about but rest, rejuvenation, and Christ’s re-birth in our hearts. This is Christmas after all. Cheers.

Last 5 posts by Mark

• God is Wholly - October 2nd, 2008
• The Great Moderation - September 30th, 2008

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 4:02 pm and is filed under Community Wells, Family, Human Identity, Personal Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.