A Beautiful Morning Part II

The beginning of the church service had been full of stress for Nate, who was continually glancing at Anne to see if she approved or disapproved of the liturgical church he attended. It had taken him almost the whole of the service to calm down enough to actually focus on the meaning of the words being said as the priest blessed the bread and wine. But by the time his pew was called up to the alter to partake of the communion he had brought his full attention back to the reality of what Christ had done for him, and just how grateful he truly was for it.

He took time as the final anthem was sung to reflect on what he had just experienced; on how it was the act of communion every week that served to center his spiritual life. When he walked into the church he was strung out, stressed and worrying about the world that surrounded him. But by the time he walked out of that small church a short time later he was once more a relaxed but determined man. It was such a peaceful thing, and the knowledge that he would have communion at the end of the week was often what got him through it. Christ=s love was always there, all he had to do was reach for it and he would be relieved. He would be alright, because a far greater power was in control no matter what...

He wondered what Anne thought about it...

Now as the acolytes put out the candles on the alter he recalled just where he was: standing in pew behind his parents, sister and brother-in-law with a stunningly beautiful young lady that they had only just met during the sharing of the peace.

As he turned to Anne to warn her of the oncoming family introductions Nate's father winked at him with a malicious and yet playful smile in his eyes as his mother began to "Properly introduce myself, I'm Nathan's mother. I don't think Nathan has ever introduced us..."

"I don't think I've ever had the opportunity before this... Mom, Dad, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Miss Anne Lewis. We're in the same discussion group at school. "

"Oh, you're Anne! Yes, I've heard Nathan mention you several times..."

Nate looked imploringly at his sister Jean. Her husband Josh responded to his fallen countenance by saying "Well, I thought it was a good save Nate. But you really did almost loose the introduction."

"Is it so bad to sit and think about the service for a few moments afterward?"

"No, but it's not very polite to not introduce your friends to your family. Especially when your family wants to meet your "friend" as much as we do..." Jean retorted.

"Hey!"

Nate was on the verge of reprimanding his sister further for being so forward in Anne's hearing when his nephew Samuel interrupted with demands to have his uncle play with him.

A Beautiful Morning... Part I

As he sat in the car before leaving to pick her up from her dorm he felt rather flustered.

"It's just church!" he told his reflection. "Not a date, not a romance, nothing to be worried about. We're just friends and that's all there is to it. This morning is just about God and His bride. What's to be nervous about there?"

But he still took a few moments more to fix his hair and practice his good-morning smile just once more. Finally, he said goodbye to the young man in the rear-view mirror and started the engine, pulling out into the Sunday morning traffic and heading north.

A few minutes down the road he divided his attention between the stick-shift and his phone, dialing her dorm room number.

"Hello?" her alto came across the line with startling promptness.

Well practiced confidence nearly failed him and cost him his voice, but he came through soon enough with a cheery "Good morning! I just wanted to let you know I'm on my way..." A few pleasantness, a mile more and he had both hands on the wheel again, trying very hard to pay attention to the road.

Soon the dorms of the local Christian college came into view. He pulled up just as she came walking out the wide double doors. "Alright Nathan Hope, no staring now..." he whispered as he opened his door and stood.

While the breath caught in his chest, somehow he did manage to keep his jaw from dropping as his secret heart exulted in the marvelous work of his Creator. Growing up with an older sister whom he actually got along with still didn't protect him from Anne's beauty. If anything, it only made the feeling of awe more complete.

He knew how careful his sister had been with how she dressed. "I'm maximizing the beauty while minimizing the temptation," she'd once told him while preparing for a date with her future husband.

Anne was obviously a woman of the same mind. A country girl to the core, the blue jeans and handsome button-up shirt with small flowers on it perfecly accented her ivory skin and blue eyes, her auburn hair falling in still damp ringlets just past her shoulders.

"My you look pretty this fine morning Miss Lewis!" he ventured as he walked around the car toward her.

"Why thank you Mr. Hope," she replied as she smile and walked toward him. "You're looking rather handsome yourself."

"Good of you to say so Anne," he said as he turned to open the door for her. When he turned back around the smile in her eyes betrayed the determined set of her mouth.

"Do you think I can't open my own door Mr. Hope?" she asked with mock distrust.

"I'm certain you could my dear Miss Lewis," he replied as he took her hand to help her into the front seat. "But if you did it yourself you would steal from me the joy of helping you!" he returned with a flourishing bow.

At this she laughed delightedly and he gently shut the door, smiling to himself as he walked back to his side of the car.

"What a fine start to a beautiful day! Thank you Lord!" he thought as he sat down next to Anne. "Just please don't let me mess it up!"

The drive to church was pleasant, but fairly uneventful. The two of them talked of the places they passed and the people they knew, sharing a few jokes and just enjoying the morning.

Nate was more than a little surprised when he realized just how little he minded being stopped by the red lights, now that Anne was beside him...

Procrastination and tired eyes make for...

a grumpy day.

Which is what I am trying to avoid! I want to be content, not grumpy! But the semester has just started, and already I feel like I've been reading for far too long! These books I have to read are great books. Very thought provoking and all that, and I'm certain that reading them is doing wonderful things for my soul. But Golly Gee Wiz! Why do I have to read them so fast?! Why so many so quickly so deeply so soon?

This feeling of frustration is why I'm here typing at this very moment. I have a book to read, but my eyes are tired, and from the lightness of my head I don't think my brain is at home right now, but leave a message and your name and number and it might get back to you later. Or not.

I know that I'm a student. And studying is my job, and I'll get wondrous things out of it and earn lots of respect and get a good job and a loving and respectable woman and good children and build character besides! But I just wanted to take a deep breath and say that in this moment, right now, I'm tired. And I think that's ok. Just so long as I don't stop simply because I'm tired. And I won't, because this is worth being tired about. I've been working hard. But I am tired.

Now back to our story...