settle in.

I think this will be a long and unusually serious post (and not entirely because I want to procrastinate the final cleaning of the old apartment....)

I really just want to write and share how very, very blessed I am -- in many ways. Today has been such an incredible day. I spent most of it with Csilla, and I really enjoyed my time with her. After church, we grabbed gyros and came back to the house and just chatted for a while. Good talk. and then Izabella came over to help pick cherries and teach me how to make hideg meggyleves -- Hungarian cold cherry soup. It's pretty delicious, and I'm thrilled to have a large pot of it chilling as I type. But the best part of my day was when I had one of those moments where I step back and realize what my life looks like.

Maybe I'm just hyper-sensitive because I know I'm getting ready to leave, but I absolutely love that I just opened up my "home" to people who come from different cultural, spiritual, and linguistic backgrounds. What amazing opportunities I've had here to get to know such cool people. And after Csilla left, Izabella and I just talked for a while. I love talking to her. She's so very honest about her need for God and His grace -- and so appreciative of the ways she's been changed by Him. I'm hoping that Csilla and Izabella will be able to talk after I've gone... it's fun to play a role in bringing other people together!

But here's what really got me today. Don't eat while you read this.

This is now the second time I've seen something like this -- the first time was pretty powerful for me for about a day. I told some people about it, and then promptly forgot all about it. So I think God wanted to remind me this morning! I'm sharing with you in the hopes that the lesson will stick this time. I got to church early, so I planned to walk around for a while before I met up with Csilla. I turned the corner and immediately found myself approaching several homeless men. One was digging through trash, one was begging -- the usual. And then I saw this one man sitting with his back against the wall. He had just taken his shoes off. His feet looked like they were rotting. They were purple and blue and black, with scaly pieces of skin falling off. Blood was pooling on the ground underneath him as he picked at blisters and scabs. It was absolutely revolting.
A tourist was walking towards me, and we both looked at the man in horror and sped up our pace.

And as I walked away, it suddenly dawned on me that this kind of man was exactly who Jesus encountered. When I read in Scripture that Jesus touched the lepers, I always envision the flannelboard version -- sad men in rags that look a little dirty. What a jolt, then, to come face to face with people who are probably just like them in today's society. They're outcasts whom others would rather ignore than acknowledge. And yet Jesus not only acknowledged them, but he also touched them. Seeing that today, and knowing that God deigned to touch people probably just like that, moved me to tears.

I wish I could say I did something exceptional after that. Maybe I should have given him some money, or bought him some food, or something. I just kept walking. At the time, I was so overwhelmed that I really couldn't think of anything else. I did pray for him.

I'm glad, though, when God shakes up my complacent views of Him. What an amazing God we serve! May we continue to be transformed into His image.


and on a very different note, Mom comes tomorrow!!!! :)