on the weekend, early august
A Summer highlight of mine was a weekend jaunt to Pennsylvania to visit dear, dear friends in August. I took a train from Penn Station on a sunny Friday afternoon and was soon welcomed with warm hugs and sincere smiles and the kindest hospitality.
I met Tim and Laura in Germany in 2015, where they both worked at the Bible School I was attending. I witnessed their budding love story and, months later, the day they wed. They've since grown a precious little baby, a spirited little boy- and it was such a delight to get to know him and marvel at the way time changes things in the most incredible (miraculous) ways. So much life has happened since I had last seen the Hurds, and I can't tell you how good it was for me to spend uninterrupted time with them, tucked in the woods of Fort Washington.
Together, we:
I met Tim and Laura in Germany in 2015, where they both worked at the Bible School I was attending. I witnessed their budding love story and, months later, the day they wed. They've since grown a precious little baby, a spirited little boy- and it was such a delight to get to know him and marvel at the way time changes things in the most incredible (miraculous) ways. So much life has happened since I had last seen the Hurds, and I can't tell you how good it was for me to spend uninterrupted time with them, tucked in the woods of Fort Washington.
Together, we:
- Spoke of memories, theology, our day to day, and God's providence in leading us all to the shores of the Bodensee that September
- Went to Vault + Vine for iced coffees and pastries, and a stroll around its floral shop
- Read books as baby napped
- Tasted a few brews at Imprint Beer Co.
- Enjoyed some early morning milky coffees and a shared box of donuts (lemon, cookies & cream, old fashioned, and a couple New Orleans beignets, to top it off)
- Went to church, complete with hymns and kind smiles and a white steeple
- Drove around Philadelphia suburbs -watching the tide of willow trees and beautiful homes (tudor, georgian, federal) from the car window, enchanted
- Sipped honey lavendar lattes at 'Feine and listed books that we've loved, books that have shaped us (Tim was at work, thus making this a girls' outing)
- Watched baby boy dance to his parents' song, reach for his little toes, watch a white balloon afloat
- Rested in their home (made with such care and attention) and delighted in the glory of doing nothing
- Lit a candle on the Sabbath as we ate fresh culled fruit, cheese and cured meat from a charcuterie board prepared with care
- Lunched at Johnson Hall Coffee House, for grilled cheese with apricot preserve
- Whispered "til we meet again" in gratitude
I especially took note of the way they practice hospitality, so simply and well- a care package upon my arrival, fresh coffee in the mornings, sincere questions and a willingness to listen, slow evenings marked with conversation around the table, a vase full of white hydrangeas- little things (precious things) that me feel so welcomed, so beloved.
'Twas a weekend that I'll forever hold dear to my heart. It is no small thing to spend time with those who understand and cherish a season of your life that has long past, but that meant so much. I'm so very thankful for such precious friends who remind me to live faithfully and to love in abundance.
'Twas a weekend that I'll forever hold dear to my heart. It is no small thing to spend time with those who understand and cherish a season of your life that has long past, but that meant so much. I'm so very thankful for such precious friends who remind me to live faithfully and to love in abundance.
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