Thanks Be to God!

There was no lunch.  No food.  Only a cup of coffee.  All because of wanting some kind of religious grounding and centering in my workaday life. 

There is a group near my office that has a short chapel service every Wednesday.  The group is part of one of the mainline Protestant denominations.  In their office building is a small chapel complete with Bibles and hymnals.  Why did it take me this long to find such a respite?

After the 30 minute service, one of the staff members whom I had exchanged emails with about the service took me on a tour of the office building, introduced me to other staffers, got me a cup of coffee in their break room, and talked with me for over an hour in their library.  He is an ordained minister with an extremely similar upbringing as mine.  I could have talked to him all afternoon had it not been for the daily fires that I deal with in my office.

Just walking into the chapel and sitting in the stillness and quiet was enough to wash away any burden from my shoulders.  The words of the prayers were reminiscent enough of my Episcopal parish to soothe my soul.  The only dissonance was a hymn that I know by heart but the music was completely foreign.  Oh well, I can deal with that.

Skipping food for lunch instead to be nourished and nurtured was well worth it.  My body my not be able to live by coffee alone; but my soul can flourish with bread and wine.  Go in peace to love and serve the lord.  [Title and last sentence explained here.]