a surrender - 32
(Continuing "a surrender," chapter four, "the anawim")
The following Sunday was fun and memorable also. I came to a small church. And I was the only white person there. Everyone else was African American. The people were very welcoming and the worship was joyful. Then I was invited to join them for a meal after the service. Everyone was invited, but the dinner was at someone’s house, with just one large table in the kitchen. So we took turns. When one person finished eating, someone else took their place at the table, with the cook still cooking and continually refilling the serving bowls. There was lots of lively conversation and everyone seemed to be enjoying their time together. I did too.
Near the end of my walk that summer, I came across these words in one of my favorite books, by Fyodor Dostoevsky:
Sometimes
even if he has to do it alone,
and his conduct
seems to be crazy,
a man must set an example,
and so draw men’s souls
out of their isolation,
and spur them to some act
of brotherly love…
That seemed to me a fitting description of my walks. At times, I felt that I wasn’t offering people anything more than the opportunity to do good. And that seemed like enough, because often God seemed very close to us in those moments. But these words also reminded me how often I had felt alone.
My many meetings with kind, welcoming people had convinced me that there was a love that could draw people together into a real family, no matter where or who they were. And I began to realize I was wanting more of that.
I wouldn’t have to wait long.
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