TRY JESUS!

that was the sign on a church just as we crossed the Connecticut RIver from Vermont into New Hampshire.

I have to wonder, tho … It seemed kind of cold and removed to me. I know Jesus desires to be our “friend” in a certain sense. But in another very real sense I think He’s made it pretty clear that we’re to be His arms and legs …. His “body” here on earth. So I think He might like us to be friends with each other first. I wish churches would have signs that said, “Need A Friend? Come On In.” or “Try Us.”

Or, the reality is that people who need friends don’t respond to impersonal signs anyway. So I think churches which are supposed to be about people and their needs (spiritual, emotional and physical), should dispense with marquees entirely, and put out something truly inviting like food … or … maybe … beer.

So … this morning we leave. I hate leaving. I’ll cry the whole way up the camp road. I always do. I can never soak in enough of this place to last a whole year. And it’s too far away to come up more than once a year. This year, by our own choice, we’ve been here a shorter time, but it doesn’t matter. Last year we spent all three weeks here and it wasn’t enough.

But we’re leaving and going to Maine. I should stop whining. Maine is going to be fun. Interesting. We’re looking forward to it. Really. LightHusband is. LightBoy is. I am … guardedly. I’ve wanted to go back to this Blueberry Festival since I was 15 … but here’s the thing … I know it’s not going to be as good as my memory is. So they (LightHusband and kids) are going to have a great time. I will merely have a good time. But, perhaps it’s been so long, and my memory is so dim that I will have a whole new and wonderful experience. And that will make it all worthwhile. Even the dial-up inter-net access.