Reunion at the June Intensive

This morning, I woke up 600 miles away from home in an old house that isn't mine--a guest house for seminary visitors.  Here is the view out of the second floor window as I write:

 

I'm at a reunion for the spiritual direction certificate program that I finished in January. Because the pandemic interrupted our chances to meet in person, we were invited back to this summer intensive.  I don't know if reunions will be part of every intensive, so I jumped at the chance to be part of this one.

I had a vision of more temperate June weather, but we are forecast to have highs of over 100 degrees.  I've lived in Columbia, SC before, so I'm not shocked, but these kinds of daytime highs usually come later in the summer.

The drive yesterday was not too bad. I was about 10 minutes away from home when I noticed that I didn't have my cell phone with me. I'm still using an old flip phone so I don't use it for much, but I'm driving an 8 year old car that has 100,000 miles on it so I decided it made sense to go back and get the phone. Happily I didn't need to use it.

I noticed a lot more trucks on the road yesterday. Maybe the nation's supply chain problems will soon be coming to an end.  I kept an eye on the skies, since I kept getting weather alerts on the radio, but the worst weather stayed away from me.

I got to the campus of LTSS, and got checked into guest lodging with no trouble. My friend arrived at the same time, and we were both hungry, so we went off to get a great meal of Middle Eastern food. We relaxed at the guesthouse, and sent a message to one of our group members who was travelling from Guatemala.  He needed a ride from the airport, and we offered to be there when his plane landed later.

As we sat in the cell phone waiting lot, I did wonder why so many people were flying into Columbia SC on a Tuesday night in June.  We found our friend easily, and the good seminary staff were waiting for him with keys when we returned. It was one of those times when connections worked as they should, and I am always grateful when that happens.

I am already feeling nourished in ways that I don't always feel nourished on a regular Wednesday. Even before the intensive starts, I’ve had good conversations about topics both theological and mundane. My friend is also relocating across states this summer, so it's been good to compare notes. She will be paying as much to have someone move her possessions as the move it yourself van quotes I was getting, so I need to remember to revisit this topic when I return home.

But for a few days let me put moving plans out of my head, so if there's more space for all that I can learn during this intensive.