[journal excerpt written on 1.8.2008 in Alexandria, Virginia - this entry is dedicated to Caitlin Vida, a dear friend and ex-roommate, who will be leaving for South Africa next Monday to serve with Youth For Christ for two years.]

Today was planned to be a “Caitlin day.” The weather was glorious – an expected 68°F in January.  Caitlin picked me up at the King St. metro station around 9am, and we drove to the outskirts of Alexandria, to a cutesy quirky café called, “Buzz.”

A “secret” path along the Potomac awaited us after the morning pick-me-up.  I call it “secret” – only because I was stunned I had never discovered this beautiful trail leading towards the marina and monuments during my two-year tenure in northern Virginia.  During our brisk walk, Caitlin and I caught up: my new life in Colorado, her bible study, a renewed relationship, and frustrations with the work status quo…She is well.

Our first stop at the marina was the Torpedo Factory.   Some nifty studios we visited included a sculptor whose vase creations contain fluorescent figurines in them.  The most striking piece I found was called, “911” – inside the dark vase was a fluorescent angel leading a fireman and child to heaven, flying hand in hand. 

We lingered especially long at an architect-trained artist’s gallery.  His specialty was re-creating sceneries from photographs and imposing elevation strata on the picture to give it a 3-D look.  The artist genius lies not in the recreation itself, but in the decisions the artists make about the height differentials in between contours of the picture itself.  His latest project is a panoramic of Jerusalem, which he plans to use the different thicknesses of the picture components to reflect the religious divides within the Holy City.  Caitlin asked the artist how he manages to travel so much, thus commencing a feast of delicious stories of culture, adventure, and cuisine.  He shared about the crazy gatekeeper who cussed his wife out because he was expecting a “reward” for returning her camera lens.  He described an airplane ride with a Hasidic Jew, who persistently refused to sit next to a woman, period.  In response, Caitlin recounted her experience with the mission team in Kenya – how the Kenyan children were just fascinated with her blonde curls, how the women of the slums welcomed her into their home…the micro-enterprise business model, and Caitlin’s oh-so-handy anti-bacterial wipes.  Then a deeper conversation ensued –the middle-age artists and two young professionals on a random Monday morning – of the paradox of Jerusalem, how the most objectively and culturally diverse metropolis in the world, was not - with all the hatred across cultures and religion - diverse at all; of how there are common languages between cultures: love, hope, motherhood, loneliness, death…but some people have simply refused to speak them.

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To this day, I still remember standing in amazement as I saw that conversation unfold.  I remember standing in awe of Caitlin, my once-next-door-roommate, of her exceptional gift to engage in the personal stories of others, and take time to implant a moment of eternity in their lives.  What boldness, what joy.  It was the perfect epitome of what it means to “live” – a leisure yet purposeful way of life that I had once knew during my study abroad days in Europe, but upon my return to the “busy” U.S. had soon forgot.  As a Christ follower, Caitlin showed me a day where what happened need not be orbitting around “my” plans, “my” goals, “my” desires.  Instead, it can be fully open to enjoying the beautiful things in life and the Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”  Dear Caitlin - as you embark on your journey to serve the teens and children in George, South Africa – I pray that you continue to live by the Spirit.  I pray that you continue to experience grace and joy that results from a life centered not on your own agendas.  I pray that you continue to embrace life with openness and guidance.  

I had always thought "to bless" was an affirmative act, which required pre-determination and effort.  What I did not know that it could also be totally of God's grace.  Caitlin has blessed me simply because of who she is in Christ, and I thank her for the life she rekindled in me, during our European Day in Alexandria two winters ago.