I read this today in a book by Henri Nouwen:
“Imagine that, in the center of your heart, you trust that your smiles and handshakes, your embraces and your kisses are only the early signs of a worldwide community of love and peace! Imagine that your trusting of every little movement of love you make will ripple out into even new wider circles — just as a little stone thrown into a pond. Imagine, imagine… Could you ever despair of the meaning of your short earthly existence?”
There is this woman that serves the hot food in the cafeteria. She is from East Africa. Every time I get my meal she smiles at me, talks to me about my day, and tells me, “God bless you sweetie!” I believe and trust, in the center of my heart, that her smiles, words, and prayers for each person she serves is changing the world!
The same is true of you and me.
I was walking down the street to the subway (the 1 train) and I found a picture of my friend Etienne Charles glued to the Wall right outside Juilliard’s main entrance:
I had music history with this cat!
This will be the first summer since forth grade that I will not be spending a week at camp and these are my thoughts:
To be in a place where people love you, not for who you pretend to be when you are at your best for a week, but for who you were at your most vulnerable place, leading out of exhaustion, and remembering you for your dedication, wit, passion and scatteredness. When I walk that humid, smelly, dirty, holy place I am amazed at Gods faithfulness… where he has brought me over the years of running in the patches of grass and dirt. From a teenage girl camper who is more concerned with what the guy next to me thinks over the sermon… to a counselor who begs God for each camper by name… to a team leader where I am more concerned with the sleeping counselor in the third row, between the boys that are kicking the pew in front of them… to an adult volunteer who wonders where her place was in the madness. Ups and downs, twists and turns. This year I find my place is to realize that God will move and work without me there. Because being an adult fac. is not the most important job, being a counselor is not the most important job, being a team leader or even camp director is not the most important job… God, is the only thing that makes that place run or even a little bit important.
Today I attended the International Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center on 34th street in NYC. It was the most unbelievable and overwhelming food experience I have ever had (and it just so happens to be FANCY). Normal food consumers can not just show up to this conference, you must register as a retailer, distributor, restaurant owner, caterer, ect. and thousands of exhibitors set up booths for you to sample their product, in hopes of future business. The exhibitors come from all over the world. The 3 story convention center had sections of booths set up for each country (Italy to South Africa) and was so expansive that one could not walk though it in a day.
I singed up as a retailer with my friend Joy Beth, who one day hopes to own her own bakery. Therefore, at the food show I pretended to work for JB Desserts in Nashville, TN. By the end of the day, after talking to everyone from chocolatiers to winery, JB Desserts caters weddings, creates gift baskets, makes cakes and cookies for special events, and we are looking for many other options from cheese crackers, peanut brittle, gummy worms, every type of cheese imaginable, margaritas, breath mints, gelato, gum, peanut butter, to guava juice (just to name a few) for sale in our store front.
I would like to expound on my favorite booths. I enjoyed Paula Dean’s booth, where I saw Paula Dean herself and tasted some of her treats. While mentioning famous people I also saw the Barefoot Contessa and ate a very delicious bite-sized cupcake. I would like to say that before today, I thought that I made the best Key Lime Pie in the world… but I tried Kenneth’s Key Lime Pie today and it was divine. I also enjoyed the sparkling water from Italy (or maybe just the Italian man who gave it to us). Then there is the chocolatier with a mission to better the world by providing fair trade, organic chocolate. There was so much tea — black, herb, white, oolong, green — all kinds all flavors and so many companies. I love how HOT tea is right now (pun intended).
When I left the Fancy Food Show and walked 4 avenues back to the subway station I felt a little sick from all the tasting and overstimulation. It was well worth every second of it!
