What I Saw in Florida - Issue #17
Jonathon, every so often, teaches day-long classes about effective political activism in various parts of the country. He got asked to teach a class in Melbourne, FL and decided to arrive two days early with me in tow for a mini vacation. We're staying at a lovely, sprawling, yellow stucco house in the historic district. We're in a little one-room efficiency apartment connected by a patio to the main house. There's a nice little screened-in porch off the back which is where I'm sitting right now. The dog who lives on the property and for whom there is a special sign on the gate to the yard, "Keep gate closed or dog will escape," is making herself comfortable on the chair next to mine and snoozing. Her name is Charlotte. She's been coming around a lot. I keep giving her pretzels, so that's probably why.
Outside the porch, I can see banana trees, palm trees, and a lot of other plants I've never seen before. There are some chickens scratching around in the yard, living their best life. Little green lizards scurry all over the trees, the walk way, and the walls. One, somehow, got inside the porch and is climbing around the table beside me. We do have lizards in SC and I see them a fair amount, but I don't think I've ever seen so many lizards in one place before. It's quite fun.
The air is warm and heavy with water.
The first full day we were here, we biked a couple of miles to the beach. After that exertion in the hot sun, we were more than ready to dunk ourselves in the ocean. We stayed too long and got sunburned, of course.
The second day, we went to visit the botanical gardens nearby. They're very small, and nothing fancy, but lovely. Lots of palms and Spanish moss, canals with fish swimming around, little bridges, benches and pagodas.
My gut has not being feeling good for quite a while. (I was on a prescription for a while that was intended to help bind to mold toxins and escort them out of the body. One of its mechanisms is to slow down digestion. For most, that probably wouldn't be an issue. But my gut is my weak spot, and it triggered a lot of symptoms. Once that happens, I can feel quite miserable for weeks. It's been three weeks now.) That in combination with some insomnia while we've been here has put a damper on the excursion. Enough so that I did not feel quite well enough to go with Jonathon to his class this morning. I'll try and make it there this afternoon. I always wish to feel well. Seems like such a small thing to ask. Especially on these kinds of special trips. I so rarely do feel well. Nonetheless, sitting here in this pleasant place is a balm for my general disappointment.
I imagine Heaven. All my pain gone, no more doctor's appointments, no more "trying one more intervention," all my "why's" answered, no more longing for that illusive missing thing that's just outside my grasp. Yes, Christians feel it, too. "Jesus satisfies my longings," is such a feel-good lie. If anything, a Christian's longings should be more intense, because we know best what's missing. If His aim were to perfectly satisfy us in every way, He'd zap us straight to Heaven upon conversion. But He has work to do with us, and so we remain.
I thought about posting a picture of what I see, but as I said before, I'm no photographer. Hopefully, you can now "see" it in your imagination. (Wink.)
But, here is a picture of Charlotte, at least.
Until next time, folks.
