City Sounds

It's been awhile since I awoke to city sounds:

car doors slamming, buses churning through their routes, people talking as they scurry to work, the "beeeep, beeeep" of garbage trucks as they back into place to pick up their cherished loads, and the hum of activity that fills the empty spaces where quiet might reign were it not for all the people. There's something comforting about city sounds once they've been a part of your life.

I didn't sleep soundly last night, not because anything was wrong, but because I listened to city sounds all night and imagined what lay below me in the streets. We're elevated above pavement level in our daughter's apartment: six floors up! A cool breeze blew into the windows and through the apartment all night long. Delicious for dozing and imagining!

Today we begin the first full week of our vacation and I can't wait to get out and enjoy the city. I want to drink it in - all of it - and experience the fullness of my days here, nor just manage them with the help of David Allen. I want to look into people's faces and read their souls. I want to scoop bucketfuls of air into my lungs and feel it burn life-giving strength into my weary body. I want to give my eyes permission to see anything and everything related to the needs of people who live on the streets and open my heart and notetaker wallet to those who beckon me to share the wealth. I want to feel the ocean on my feet and be transported to that real place where I feel small and insignificant as I see the Atlantic Ocean spread before me like a huge sheet ready to be stretched over a mattress that tired people might sleep upon it.

As I drove into the city, one words kept pummeling my mind: souls! I was called to this city back in 1998 and I spent my life strength here seeking out those who were spiritually lost. The people and places and experiences of this place shaped me into the person I am today and I will be forever grateful for my days here. Longings...

I think I'll drink a coffee or two and read Isaiah. He understands the way I feel toward people. His ministry was a soul-saving one, too.