Moments of Joy

I must interrupt my spiritual odyssey to share 3 moments of joy which have recently become mine, and if you love Adele and Brett as we do, recently became yours, too:

The first moment was when I found out that Adele was pregnant. The second moment was when I found out that Nurse Sheilah had told Adele that she could be confidently pregnant. The third moment was when I found out that Adele carries 2 babies on her and Brett's journey of pregnancy. I am decidedly overwhelmed with joy for Adele and Brett both, and for those fortunate babies, those 2 little beings, who are blessed to have Adele and Brett as their sweet parents. I will joyfully and regularly remember to remember them all in my prayers, always asking God that He remember them, be in charge of them--all.

And there is another moment of joy to share, gentle readers, on a different subject:

Friday night, Richard and I went to the Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney for dinner. They have great everything there but really great chocolate chunk brownies! It was crowded. It was, after all, Friday evening. Fortunately, I got us a great table inside, though it could easily seat 5 and I hated hogging all that space for just us. So I offered to share the table with first one couple, who declined with thanks because they were a party of 6, then with a second couple who gratefully accepted my offer.

Richard was in line getting our food and the husband sat down with me, as he got around with a tripod aluminum cane, while his wife went for the food.

I asked the gentleman where they were from and he said, Israel . . . Jerusalem. I asked him what his work was and he replied that he was a scientist, working on developing a model of photosynthesis at university in Jerusalem. I quickly appreciated that if he could develop such a thing what a remarkable application for new energy resources that would be. And his eyes lit up with gladness that I understood. Then his face sobered and he reminded me that it was a tedious process and most likely to take a long time.

Then both Richard and Joy (his wife's name, or one of them. I cannot pronounce his or her other first names, or their last name for that matter. And I did not write them down.) came back to the table and they wished us good appetite, we asked God to bless our food (as we ALWAYS do) and we all settled down enjoyably over Full Montagues and Meatball Subs and BROWNIES.

Both Joy and her husband were so interesting. Both are so concerned for Israel, tiny, world power Israel. They lamented that when people think of Israel, they seem to always think first about what a world power Israel is, somehow overlooking the issue of how tiny Israel is. They compared it to Rhode Island in size and expressed regret that peace in the mid-east meant, seemingly to one and all, constantly nibbling away at tiny Israel.

Richard and I, of course, soundly objected to endorsing, no, we roundly denounced any "nibbling away" at Israel. God gave Israel to the Jews. And, to us, that is that. We practice always deferring to God. We are obligated to support what God ordains and are overjoyed to do so.

Somewhat surprised by our response, they responded that they wished more Jews felt that way and said that ironically the most orthodox Jews supported giving pieces of Israel away because the Messiah to come would reinstate them. Then they confided that they did not believe that rigid application of religion and law would ever save them from their situation.

Richard related to them how the Catholic Church threw off centuries of intricate legalism with Vatican II, calling the faithful to renew their love for God and embrace an awakening of a new heart for God. He then asked if there were any figure in Judaism of comparable position to the pope, someone who could call Israel to renew their heart for God, as David did. After pondering this question a moment they replied that no there was not. And yet, and yet, we could tell these two very intelligent people were profoundly caught by the idea, even intrigued by the thought. I certainly was and still am!

Anyway, the noise level in the Earl of Sandwich was off the charts. You would think it would have been impossible to talk, much less think. But talk and think and share . . . and eat . . . we did. And later parted company with regret. But then, they were only visiting from Israel and had a non-stop itinerary planned.

I had to share this prolonged moment of joy. I won't ever forget it. Jew and Christian, our history and destiny are forever entwined, an we are so fortunate if we understand to always value, encourage and support each other.

P.S. I had been wanting "Earl" Brownies all day. Do you think God was up to something? Hmmm, I do! Bless Him!

Until later . . .