from zero to infinity in 2.5 seconds

i ran into an old friend today. he wears birkenstocks [with socks] and was there when my world was falling to pieces back in january. he knows things.

i knew that our conversation wasn't going to last long. he had a newspaper in his hand and i had an empty flat rate box in mine as i was shuffling over to the jkb. it was a quick hello-how's-life moment when i realized that the months of creme filling decorated between this cookie present and the cookie past when i last saw him wasn't going to be enjoyed in 2.5 minutes. and i said that.

which is when that 2.5 minute shallow speech turned into a 2.5 something wonderful.

i told him how i had changed. one eighty. how i loved my life, despite its downfalls and mondays. how it took something as silly as....well, we won't mention it explicitly, but something seemingly silly to refine me to right now. he said, "it's funny how the lord often teaches us the most through relationships. probably because that's what we are invested in the most. often more than school and everything else in life."

the thoughts were bubbling in my mind.
"yeah. wow. you know, having spiritual experiences and all that is completely about feelings, which ties in so poetically with the emotions we experience when we are in relationships. it's kind of cool."

he nodded agreement. "and when they don't work out, it makes us tender and receptive to the things god wants us to learn."

hug. mental silence. mental awe. 2.5 minutes.