its about time
and taking a breath; its about closing your eyes and emptying your mind; its about making out and eating well; its about sipping and pairing and laughing.
The Herb Farm Restaurant wined and dined us; they entertained and serenaded us; they lead and fulfilled us... but it was more than that,
Except being late for dinner.
We were to check-in at the lodge about 3:30pm and check-in to dinner at 4... just enough time to blank, get dressed and freshen up before strolling hand in hand over to the Herb Farm house just in time for a lovely walk around the herb garden and a relaxed seating at our table.
Unfortunately, the room was not ready in time for the blank and freshening up but the staff was wonderfully apologetic and being on a bender to encourage those in the church to flee from their entitlement tendencies, I was
so we strolled hand in hand, none-the-less, over to the Herb Farm and walked inside.
It was as though we had stepped foot into another dimension. Did these people have any idea what was happening out there? Had we been transported from our Schei reality into an Italian countryside cottage without feeling any physical discomfort, nausea, dizziness and/or fear?
Tim kindly beckoned us over to his lovely table on our left... he looked at us as though he'd been expecting us and as if there was a faint familiarity that he was trying to put his finger on - he poured us two delicate cups of Lemon Verbena and Lavender tea whilst explaining to us what the wonderland around us had to offer... 'down the blue, carpeted corridor you will find the wine cellar and if you'd like you may take the stairs here next to the fireplace up to the loft where you will see over the dining room and all that you've gotten yourself into this evening...' his strong English accent trailed off as I cupped the warm tea in my hands and took my first sip.
After melting into my tea, and feeling whatever stress I had about our room not being ready disappear, we wandered out to the gardens... and it was there that I got a read on the people we'd be dining with this evening. When inside a small cottage with lovely, charming rooms to boot, we were unable to see the scope of who we'd be building relationship with over the course of the next five hours... and honestly, once inside and seated, it felt in some weird twist of the imagination as though we had just found out our ship was sinking and we were all each other had. We would get to know each other really well... like it or not, over the course of
and Wagyu Tenderloin Tartare; Carrot-Cumin Puree and Saffron Turnips; Marrow-Miso Sauce and Sunchoke Pear Salad; Braised Farm Greens and Hazelnut Marmalade and Sorrel & Oaked Whiskey Gel Parfait.
But remember we haven't gotten there yet! The screeching tire sound and CGI's reverse-quickly-through-time effect quickly bring you and I back to imagining the throngs of couples spilling out into the herb gardens like troops encircling their prey. Being close to the front line I was able to survey the crowd and begin to try and explain what I saw... but there was no explaining. It was a large majority theatre-crowd (don't pretend you don't understand), awkward couples where the men wore jeans and looked perplexed while the women wore stilettos and their shortest skirt, some couples that I have yet to understand their downcast, almost resentful, faces and then the wonderful Italian tall women and their short counterparts sipping their first glass of red wine and hootin' and hollerin' at every herb thrown into the crowd...
but the girl next to me made me feel comfortable. And the women next to her, even more so. In that moment I set all thoughts aside and prayed to the Lord specifically, 'I hope these are the women we sit with tonight...' and without hesitation He filled me with serenity. Not because I would be sitting with these women but that He had the entire evening planned out and I would be remiss to 1) not come to Him and lay all my desires at His feet and then 2) not trust that He worked for His glory and that Kyle and I would be partnering with Him tonight.
the restroom was a bit country... but the tap was to die for (Nia would have loved it). I walked out of the bathroom, through the drafty and cool wine cellar, spilled into the long, blue-carpeted corridor, through the entry way of the cottage, through the swinging door and into the dining room where I saw my husband at one of the two center tables... he was smiling and conversing with two women.
Ashley and Lorena were seated directly across from Kyle and I... I immediately wanted to spill the beans that I had prayed for just this and then found myself wanting to see in secret what the Lord had up His sleeve before, what felt like, revealing the awesomeness of the Grand Prize.
We introduced ourselves and ate one, two, three courses; we sipped one, two, three splashes of wine pairings and became furthermore acquainted with each other. We talked about Bob's fascination with all things fishing and Kyle and I's lack of concern leaving our children for a night; we discussed Ashley's job at Willows Lodge and my past job at The Fairmont Olympic; when we began discussing babies and kids and all things parenting... I mentioned 'prayer time' with the kids and the walls began to dissolve quickly across the table. We discussed local church and the global church and Jesus' desire for the church as a whole and this and that and this and that... a most glorifying and beautiful experience to the point that at moments I was goose-bumped and choked up as to the familiarity... because we knew and served the same Lord; because we submitted and called to the same God; because we believed in and placed our hope in the same Messiah; because we knew that the same Holy Spirit was there at work in our midst over the self-titillating, for lack of a better word, of such a beautiful meal and luxurious rooms... that although we took not one moment for granted, we were simply being lavished upon by a God who could bring us to the humility of despair and need in a matter of moments simply because He loves us and wants us to draw near to Him.
Jamie and Brad. You had no idea when you bought this dinner for us what God had planned. You had no idea that I would pray a prayer in the Herb Farm garden, that He would fill me with peace immediately after that prayer, and that He was at work; that Ashley and Lorena would be booking the same night. You had no idea that Lorena was going through the same moments emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally that MY Mom was in the midst of; you had no idea that she and her husband were seeking a church body and found one they loved like Kyle and I just had; that God had already orchestrated every moment for His glory. Jamie and Brad, you had no idea that at the end of Kyle and I's most marvelous 10 Year Anniversary dinner that we would shut down the house and just before rising from the table
we would be sitting in prayer with two women. That we would be, with our heads bowed and teary eyes, giving God the glory for all He orchestrated and the people He used to do so. That the kitchen staff might be experiencing something quite extraordinary as they looked across the empty, disheveled dining room at four people laughing and talking with their eyes closed...
You had no idea. You were just obedient.
Well done, good and faithful servants. We love you each with our whole hearts and look forward to seeing you as soon as we possibly can... and after an evening of wining and dining; love-making and sleeping; let me tell you, I will be finding myself right back in the midst of the Schei reality tomorrow morning...
yet He hasn't changed. He is still at work in the midst of luxury and decadence; in the midst of daily life and endurance.
He is constant. He is
Jamie and Brad, thank you. Thank you a million times over. You gave us more than you could've imagined...
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