I'm writing you from Oregon today...that's the OR in the subject line.
We are enjoying coming alongside a couple who invited us to come "hang" with them for a time in what we are calling a "debriefing."
Debriefing can mean many things, but often these days ministry workers talk about debriefing as a time set aside to reflect on the personal impact of their experiences at a time of significant transition, or at least pause. One model for this is in a gathered group. We are exploring a different model--the just-in-time visit.
I believe the just-in-time visit can be a wonderful gift of coming alongside. Sometimes it works best for the debriefers to visit or vice versa, or even for both to gather at a neutral location (or perhaps a site healing in its own right!) In this context there is room for story to emerge at it's own pace in a gathering of fellow pilgrims with kindred hearts. We seek to listen well and resonate with the themes that have been embedded in a life well-lived (but not perfect) as well as the paradoxes and complications encountered along the way.
Coming alongside is not a "once-for-all" or even a "without-which-not" experience or passage, All the same, it can be a pleasant gift which refreshes along the way of a journey not yet done. (And yes, I've been cited already for over-using the word "journey!")!
Perhaps a second meaning for the land of "OR" could be that experience where we see things one way, but then we realize there are other perspectives as well, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. That reminds me of what I do when I try to take pictures with my smartphone--a limited, but still interesting frame on the realities of life. And since we are in OR, how about if I send you one of those pictures which we took "along the way!"
In Him who keeps us, Steve and Laura
PS Don't discuss the meaning of this picture in this email with an English major or an artist...it's just a waterfall! (Silver Falls State Park, Upper South Falls)
Steve and Laura Spinella
US: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Steve cell 719.355.4809, Laura cell 832.755.4261
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