Come Apart

Thank You, God, for the sunshine today. Initially I heard a forecast for another in a series of gloomy days, and my heart lurched for our visitors. They work so hard, they wait so long, they have this tiny window of “beach,” of “vacation” and I just want their time to be special for them. And for that, we need at least some sunshine. So I asked You for it, for them. That meant slower sales today, which in turn meant we got other tasks done in the shops, and I came home after day shift in that state of glad-tired that accompanies accomplishment. 

Now I am looking ahead at a genuine day off tomorrow, and already I am filling it in my mind. Yes, I have need-to-do’s. But my friend Judy is playing music at the art show being held in Nags Head, and I want to go. I want to put on shorts, maybe a tee-shirt, and wander the booths and listen to the music. Maybe go to the beach in the guise of a visitor myself! 

Lord, I am going to know folks at that show. Not just Judy, I mean other folks. So even though I am out of the shop, I will still be in a public place and living a public life. When You say, Come Apart, is there a “where” involved? Is there a place where I can go and be with You, less interrupted? Is that even possible?

You want to be anonymous for just a little bit. You have a bright heart-light and it shines wherever you go. Let Me lead you tomorrow to places where, although your love and kindness will be evident, you are not necessarily recognized, so you don’t have to engage in long conversation. The goal tomorrow is for you to listen to yourself. Think about Julia Cameron’s Artist Date advice: the idea is not to discern what others prefer, like, choose, or are drawn to. The idea is to tease these choices, these preferences out for yourself. Take your own advice and notice what you notice. Then, again, notice not what you think but what you feel. Then come back here and report in. Remember, I will be with you the whole time. But reporting in will help cement in your memory all you experience and all you feel.