Abundant life

There has been a major change at work (from my perspective [edit: and that of a few other people]), and these past weeks have been occupied with preparing for and adjusting to the change.

Yesterday afternoon, shortly before leaving for home, I was "instant messaging" with a former colleague, and he invited me to his family's Sabbath dinner. I was on my bike, so I quickly plotted out a route to his house. It was a pleasant 45 minute ride.

I hadn't seen his family in some time, so it was great to catch up with everyone again. My colleague prepared most of the meal: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar; mesclun salad with feta cheese, pistachios and vinaigrette dressing; another salad of garbanzo beans, yellow and green bell peppers, and fennel; broiled steelhead; pan-fried potatoes; asparagus; two flavours of Fosselman's ice cream; and two bottles of delicious white wine. A truly spectacular meal.

As always, the conversation was animated and often about the deeper things of life, including how much we have and yet how we are often so fearful and thus miss out on what life is offering us. We discussed the change at work and how we (I) can respond to it without giving in to a deep sadness.

It was after 11:00 when my colleague loaded my bike into the back of their van and took me home.

An evening that was one of life's abundant gifts.