Day Three

Sunday.  

The morning started out with church.  Bethany Baptist. . . it's still the same as I always remember it.  

Its interesting to me how sometimes places don't change.  I'm not sure if I want it to be that way.  In some ways it seems comforting that it's not any different than I remember, but I think that in other ways, I am a little concerned with the lack of change.  I don't want to be a downer or a critic, but sometimes the life that can be found in the Spirit isn't found in places where he dwells.  Why is that?  Why do people still look discouraged when the leave church?  And it's not just Bethany, it seems to be a worldwide problem.  If Jesus can overcome anything in our lives, then why do we still strive so hard to keep our lives together?  And if we are all a part of the priesthood of heaven, then why are we not ministering to each other in more powerful ways?  Isn't that what you would expect from a group of people who are to inherit heaven?  Would they not already walk as though heaven is a reality?  

Oh, Jesus, yesterday brought so many questions.  When are we going to have answers?  

The evening held some fun times with old friends. . . and new ones, I suppose.  My best friend from high school, Megan and I hung out with her boyfriend John and her brother Mitchell.  It was super fun.  It was also super snowy in Tacoma so getting to John's house was a little challenge.  I actually slid into a curb which was scary, but I was thankful that I didn't hit anything more serious.  

John lives in a beautiful part of Tacoma near their school, the University of Puget Sound.  It's an old school founded by the Jesuits and the campus is BEAUTIFUL.  The part of town he lives in is considered 'old-town.'  All the homes are old and quaint and there are precious little corner stores every few blocks.  His house, occupied by four guys who have graduated from UPS in the past few years, is small but very nice inside.  They had a beautiful Christmas tree up and stockings hanging over the fireplace for all four boys and their girlfriends.  Precious.  

The plan was to meet at John's house and then go to a movie.  Megan and John's favorite theater is called The Grand in downtown Tacoma.  It's a cute little old theater that primarily shows indie and arts films.  I've been there to see foreign films with Megan before.  Its really cute because each theater probably only seats 50 people or so.  The screen is small, but the films are always super quality.  

We saw Slumdog Millionaire.  I've heard great reviews from friends at Biola so with little knowledge of the film except that it was WONDERFUL, I had big expectations.  I'm not going to say it wasn't good, because it really was, but it wasn't all that I had expected.  It's a sweet story about three Indian children from the slums of Mumbai who grow up together and eventually go their own ways.  There is betrayal, romance, and challenges caused by money and poverty.  It's moving and does touch the deep places in the human spirit, speaking to the true longings of humanity.  It's also interesting how the show 'Who wants to be a millionaire' is tied into the whole story, exaggerating all the movies' themes.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.  

After the movie, we enjoyed a few more hours of conversation and pit/hummus.  It doesn't get any better than that.  It's interesting to see how Megan and I have changed.  In many ways, I think we're more suited for a friendship than in high school, but in other ways, we are very different.  Getting to know John a little bit was interesting too.  He's not the type of guy I would ever have expected her to be with, but he is kind and gentle and they have so much fun together.  I'm not sure how I'm handling the change, it's going to take a lot of conversations with Jesus to make sense of day three.  Jesus, help me to understand.