On a more personal note

I think for this blog I (Jerry) will take you down a more personal path.  I hope that's okay with everyone :).

This past Thursday marked the 2nd month since my dad passed away.  He was 43 when he passed away from a mixture of car accident, stroke and loss of oxygen to the brain.  Images flashed through my mind as I watched the clock turn that day remembering what was happening exactly 2 months prior--sitting next to my dad as he was slowly passing away.  I woke up that morning feeling that weight coupled along with still just feeling foreign here.  I decided to take a trip up to some mountains that are nearby.  I told Mike what I was doing, hopped on a tram and I was off.

It was a slow tram ride there.  I got to a stopping point, and I could either take another tram or a bus.  Being totally uncertain I took a tram that had a small route according to the map.  I got to the end of that short adventure, asked a guy where I was at and took the tram right back to that stopping point.  Haha another reminder I am still learning.  I got on the bus, and I ended up in the middle of a cozy community.  Since I had no idea where the other bus would take me I decided to not attempt to travel further up the mountain on this day.  I had my backpack with me, and I had all intention to read, journal and just pray.  I noticed a small Catholic church and decided to check it out.  I'm a sucker for architecture, and I love some of the images in places like Catholic churches.  I walked into the courtyard, and there was a man getting a drink of water from a fountain.  I asked him if the church was open, and if it would be possible to walk around.  He replied, "No it isn't open, but come inside."  I followed him in, and he and another man were working on a broken organ inside.  We struck up a conversation as he took a break while rolling up a cigarette.  He was a man with many opinions about our current political battles in America, and with his own views about Croatian government.  I found it a very interesting conversation.  We walked outside, so he could enjoy his freshly rolled cigarette as we continued to talk.  Here is the part where I see God in days like this one.

Before I was leaving the man said, "Go get you some fruit.  You won't find that in America!  No GMOs! (GMO is a genetically modified organism.)"  We walked to the back to find a pear and apple orchard.  We continued to talk as both the men picked apples and pears for me to put in my bag.  We laughed for a little while about some of the politics and just general life before I left the grounds.  You may be asking, "What's the point?"

There are days when death in any sense of the word whether its rememberance, sin, brokenness--you name it--are very real, but a God of life is still present.  It happens in the exchange of hospitality between strangers.  It happens as you share life and the sustaining of life--food.  Who was that man?  I don't know his history, I think his name was Davor and he had many opinions on politics and life.  I experienced the grace of God through this man.  That's why we're here.  To recognize God, to point to Him, to be His sacrament to the world and to simply share Life as we invite others into that reality.  Praise God He seeks us where we are.

Jerry