out of the ordinary

We escape from school. Clammering out of our dorms and racing away from the classrooms filled with used blue books and dull pencils, we enthusiastically burst out into the bright sunshine, ready whatever Summer has in store for us. I have learned that college makes you accustomed to sprinting... Short leaps and bursts of energy keep you alive from midterms to finals, between weekends and breaks. But once you leave, Summer--for all she promised you-- is never quite the glory you thought she would be. Change begets monotony and work turns from the academic to manual so that you almost have to cup your ears to the clamor of cacophony of the weeks of hopefulness that tell you that leaving school was an adventure.

This has been my experience.

But in the pockets of all that is usual, I have a found a graceful bit of distraction. This summer is sure to be extraordinary--I expect it to be so in both good and bad ways--but this period of patience before two months in Africa has proven a challenge to bear. That is, until a week ago...

Of the ten of who lived in Riachrdson House last year, one of us got married on the third, and so seven of traveled all the way to Kansas for the grand occasion.

It is blessed thing to be reunited with friends. We drove over 2,000 miles together, camping in State Parks and counting all the bovine that we saw in the Midwest...with only one almost-speeding-ticket, seven state lines were crossed, and five girls reconnected after a month of Summer. We returned to that community that we were once a part, an old and integral part, of that has not changed shape and so there are clear gaps we can wriggle comfortably back into.

They have not intentionally taught me this at college, but it is something that I have learned regradless...

Without friends, life would not be quite so bearable, and so I am thankful that God took us out of the ordinary Summer days and threw us into the middle-of-nowhere-Kansas to watch our dear friend marry. What a joyous diversion.