A Friend!

Luke 2:36-38 - 36,37 There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only 7 years and was now 84 years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshiped God, fasting and praying. 38 That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.

What wisdom might Anna hand to us as we seek to widen the circle of our community?
From Sacred Journeys A Woman’s Book of Daily Prayer

One Sunday morning, I woke up thinking about end of the Christmas holidays, the emotional ups and downs of the previous week, with being asked to leave our 2nd host family’s house, parental patience levels being tested, missing friends and family…. I decide to go for a run. That morning, another mother of a young boy was also out on a run. Our paths crossed. “Where are the kids?” She asked me. “Oh, they’re at home with my husband” I replied, trying and trying to figure out where I knew her from. She read my thoughts, “I saw you at Las Posadas, at the church. That’s how I know you have children.”
I asked her for suggestions about where to run, and she invited me to run with her. We ended up running together for about 1 ½ hrs! We mad connection after connection. She had a 5-year-old son, so we talked about the joys and challenges of parenting. She is a school teacher WHO BIKES TO WORK, so we talked about teaching and biking. She lived in Chicago for 2 years. So we talked about the city. But mostly, we talked about marathons and triathlons and adventure races. And then, she invited me to participate in a race in a nearby town the following Sunday, with her. Martha is her name. Her five-year-old son’s name is Alan. Yippee!