I’m heading home today after being out of town for the last ten days.
First, I went to Lancaster County with my dear friend Nyna for a week…with the goal of research for upcoming books. I can’t even begin to say what an amazing, enriching week it was! I connected with many Amish friends whom I had met during the writing of Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World, and also met new friends!
The week was tightly scheduled, with meetings every day, yet I knew enough to leave “space” for God’s unexpected blessings. Bill Coleman, the photographer, had said the same thing during the radio interview a week or so ago. He drives out to his Amish village with eyes and heart open for the unexpected. I knew just what he meant!
Nyna and I had so many remarkable moments…when I get back to my computer in my tiny laundry room, I’ll download some pix and share them on the blog.
Most of all, I continued to learn principles of the Amish–that was my aim. I want to write about them credibly in both upcoming non-fiction and fiction books.
The eternal qualifer about the Amish is that there are many, many variations on what it means to be Amish. But I was looking for the heart…and I found it! God keeps directing my path to Amish individuals who share their deep faith and interior repose with me.
And their sense of humor! They are FUNNY. Always with gentleness, I’ve observed. None of the sharp bite that is so admired in our English world.
I’m leaving on a jet plane today, after a few extra days tagged to the end of the trip, zooming around my dad’s old stomping grounds in New England.
Back in the saddle tomorrow. Back to a very long to-do list and the computer!
Sounds like you had a phenomenal trip! Too bad you aren't stopping by Texas on your way home!