Good morning…
I received a surprise email from one of the directors from my two year spiritual direction training program. From Cleveland, Ohio she wrote: “Hoping the event goes well for Same Kind of Different as Me. I am asking God to bless your effort to reach out to others about with the message of this story. I am thankful that you are there and giving as you do! May many be blessed by your life in God.”
I had given her a copy of this book I love, with a save the date event card during our final residency in early June. That she read the book. That she remembered the date. That she reached out from Ohio to Georgia means so much to me.
I just wrote her back in the middle of the night: “Thank you for noticing our Same Kind of Different As Me event. It is an important gathering for our community as we raise funds and awareness to support the beautiful, healing relationships God orchestrates as we notice we are all the “same kind of different,” wealthy and homeless, haves and have-nots. We all need God and we all need each other.
Registration is now closed and next Wednesday, the 25th, is the gathering in the World Congress Center. About one hundred of the women who I mentor in my living room will be sitting at tables with me, along with so many others in our community closely connected through church, school, sports. I trust God has huge blessings planned.
Thank you for your prayers for this gathering and for this movie as it premiers in theaters across the country this weekend. It is fun to see Paramount Pictures bring to life this meaningful book with A-list actors who have been deeply affected. If you see the movie, know that my absolute favorite scene happens on a bench outside the mission, capturing the mutual, life-giving love between a homeless man and a hurting woman. No words are shared, but this scene says it all.”
Listen, everyone, listen— earth-dwellers, don’t miss this. All you haves and have-nots, All together now: listen (Psalm 49:1-2, MSG).
…Sue…
