the Never-ending Story

Tonight, as I stepped out into the night to do the mundane, open my car door and get in, drive home, the end of a long day. And as I lugged my bag, jingled my keys, the peacefulness, the calm of the evening was calling my name. The night was in a mood tonight and it called out and invited me to join it. Gladly, I interrupted the daily mundane and stopped and just breathed in and out, smelling and being totally aware of how calm and warm it was outside. I was almost tempted to put my windows down in my car, wishing that I didn't have to climb inside my machine and close out the quiet still night. I love it when God breaks into the mundane and blesses you with a calm that washes over your soul and no matter what else is going on in your life, you experience the peace that transcends all understanding. Tonight for me, that peace came in the form of an offering of an abnormally warm, still calm night. Even now as I write this, I am tempted to go sit outside and breathe some more...

Finishing a good book is always so bittersweet. I love to finish books, it's like checking off something on a to do list, only this list is not full of obligations and necessary things. In fact this list isn't really a list at all. It is this blank sheet of paper on which you write down who you become as you read. Finishing a good book is like adding something else, another ingredient to your life that makes it richer and sweeter and more fulfilling. There is a sense of accomplishment and you feel as though life just became a little deeper. And yet there is the sadness too, it is over. The mystery of how the story will end is now unraveled and the character's lives who strangely become like friends, they have left you. The solace and comfort of turning to a different world for awhile has disappeared and it feels a little empty. The credits are running and it's time to stand up and walk out of the theater, but i don't think I'm ready for the story to end yet. It's a good thing the author of the book I read has another waiting for me to dive into. I'm grateful for that. :)

Those are my thoughts for tonight... warm still evenings and bittersweet books...