little blessings

So today was amazing. It was a great day filled with a lot of unexpected blessings, some little and some a bit bigger.

So, I started the day nice and early, at least for a Sunday. I got up, listened to Handel's Messiah while I got ready and spent some time with the Lord thinking about what Easter means and just being reminded of some of the things he's been doing recently, both in and around me.

Then I went to church nice and early, since the service was a bit earlier than normal for Easter. I had a bit of time to kill before I could head to where I was having Easter lunch, so headed to where I needed to catch the train and camped out at Starbucks for an hour or so, continuing to read some of what I started this morning and en route reading Rob Bell's Sex. God. There was an hour from church to the train station, 45 minutes from the train station to Las Matas where I was having lunch.

So, I arrive to the house of my friends, the Courtneys, who are missionaries with kids my age. It is me, them, two other couples whom I know fairly well, and a couple (their nephew and fam) with two kids. As always (even though it's been awhile since I've been to their home), it feels like home. We all help cut veggies, take things from the kitchen to the grill, catch up on life, etc., It is a comfortable place. I am greeted by tea, the Messiah playing on their stereo, Tom's hilarious dry sense of humor, and just a sense of belonging, somewhere between the US and Spain, almost like an altered reality.

And we ate WELL. Incredibly well. Sea bass grilled out on the grill, amazing grilled veggies, a spinach strawberry poppyseed salad, spanish bread, good wine. amazing, really. I mean I don't think I've had sea bass cooked that well since I was in Santiago, Chile, five or so years ago.

And periodically it would SNOW! In this suburb of Madrid (where you also have a great view of the mountains and that is just so quiet and peaceful). Amazing. The perfect way to spend Easter.

And I just happened to be next to this sweet little four year old who every now and then would just break into a little song or just singing "Hallelujah." Precious. And her brother, a couple years older (who was a bit rambunctious was for half the meal under the table and would every now and then grab my foot or at least bump it with whatever he was playing with).

After dessert and coffee, we all continued to talk (and I do have to say Tom really is hilarious). Eventually we headed upstairs to watch the Real Madrid - Valencia game, which was a great game even though we lost. Definitely a fun, family-esk day.

And definitely a bit unexpected. Little blessings from the Lord. Oh, and I also finished my book (and borrowed another one from Jan, on Hudson Taylor).