This past Saturday I was welcomed to Wilmington by the spunky Adelaide Brooks and her dog Susie. I knew immediately if the rest of The Anchor community was anything like these two, then this summer would be one filled with hospitality and love unlike anything I’ve experienced before. After meeting so many of you on Sunday, I feel confident that I have so much to learn from the faith, humor, and stories The Anchor community has to offer. From worship on the Barge to the baptism service to the party at Meg’s house, you all have wrapped me in your embrace without knowing a thing about me. And for that, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. The Anchor community is a family I feel lucky to be thrust into this summer. Though I only got to learn a few stories from a small number of you in the last two days, it has only made me more excited to be a part of the mosaic of stories and lives you all bring to the body of Christ. The Anchor is made up of people who look like they should have nothing in common. But I’ve quickly learned your faith in the One bigger and more loving than anything any of us have ever known binds you all to one another. There is a deep beauty in your faith and I am honored to be able to learn from each of you this summer. After only one full day with all of you, I was struck again and again by the depth and faith in your stories. Thank you for sharing with me. I can’t help but wonder how I got fortunate enough to spend the summer with you all. God works in funny ways, I suppose.
I arrived a few minutes late to the final session of a baptism class Philip was leading yesterday before the baptism service at Carolina Beach State Park. Driving to the class, it took everything in me not to succumb to the post lunch nap my body was so sure I needed. My goal was to stay awake during the session and maybe gain a couple bits of insight. Nothing more. Boy, was I unprepared for the wisdom RJ, Maurice, and John were about to drop on me. The three of them had just begun to share their stories with the group when I walked in, and I knew right away I was entering a sacred space. The word honest doesn’t come close to accurately depicting the earnestness with which they shared their truths. They shared with something deeper, grittier, and harder than the word “honest” can describe, but I can’t think of a word that quite describes what I’m getting at. I feel privileged to have been welcomed into their stories. RJ, Maurice, and John did not shy away from the hard questions. We wondered together about anger, forgiveness, faith, and even dinosaurs. I’m not sure we reached many answers, and who knows, we may never find satisfying answers to the questions we posed together. But I am sure of this: RJ, Maurice, and John, you three showed me what it looks like to be relentlessly pursued by the God who doesn’t give up on His people. You showed me what it looks like to be free in Christ, while refusing to make that freedom cheap. In our short time together, you taught me to lean into the difficult questions life asks of us because God can be found even in those questions. Witnessing your baptisms was an honor I will not soon forget.
Sweaty and sandy, I left the baptism service to head to the party at Meg’s house thinking Anchor people had taught me all I could learn in a day. Wrong again. At Meg’s party last night, I met Sharon and we got to talking. Sharon told me about her art and what mediums she preferred to use for her work. I asked Sharon about her work out of curiosity since I don’t have much experience painting, not expecting to learn about Sharon’s ability to find God in the small things. But sure enough, Sharon taught me just that. When I asked about her preferred mediums, she immediately answered she uses red pastels because they don’t seem like they could create beautiful portraits, yet somehow, they do. She uses red pastels because they remind her God takes things that don’t seem useful or beautiful and uses them to do work that glorifies God. Sharon, listening to you talk about your art flowed so effortlessly into talking about God’s work in your life. It reminded me of times I’ve listened to people whose first language isn’t English speak about what they’re passionate about, and they unknowingly switch from speaking in English to speaking in their native tongue. Sharon, it seems your native tongue is talking about God. I have so much to learn from that. I am in awe of your faith and the beautiful and unexpected ways it showed up in my conversation with you.
Anchor family, thank you for inviting me into your community. I’m so excited to watch how the presence of God moves in our midst and do life with you these next weeks.