Birthday Party at 36

No actual photos exist from the event but perhaps a few memories. You might remember a joke directed at you that you didn't like the sound of. You might remember salmon falling from your chop sticks onto your trousers. You might remember a room full of people you almost know. You might remember the willingness of your loved ones to take up positions of service. You might remember the story of my dad running over a cat. You might remember meeting for the first time or for the first time in a while. The world is not entirely relative; some things are shared.

I remember the perspective of the table stretched out in front of me. A table lined with candle-lit food warmers like a road heading both ways out of the present into the past and future. You might remember a feeling that no matter where we came from, we have something in common.

Fear was not on the menu and didn't even get through the door: we had tempura, sushi, salmon, and some proper desserts. You might not have noticed the absence of the girl who taught us how to make tempura or the absence of committed drinking. I think I noticed the grace of the One who fills our lives with the potential and the reality of love and companionship. I think the Man who turned water into wine at Cana still likes parties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_at_Cana

Amos 9:14 4 'And I will bring back the exiles of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them.'