The Silver Lining

CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE We’ve made an amazing discovery at our house about the Center of the Universe. Several years ago on one of my trips to Africa, my dear friend Ato gave me a leather & snakeskin rug. It is one of my favorite possessions, because it reminds me of a place I found happiness and purpose. The rug’s design is one of concentric circles, leading to a center medallion. Moving in with David presented many challenges, particularly with merging my belongings in with his. It has taken weeks to sort through the boxes of our things and determine what to place where. Additionally, we share our home with three furbabies: a black Lab named Scarlett, and two Snowshoe Siamese cats named Zeepers and Lil’ Jazz. Our house has a small central hallway/room, about 8’ square. In its earlier years, this room was where that new-fangled communication device called “the telephone” was located. I know this because of the special shelf built into this room. Anyway, from this little central roo...

I watched the two men at the door. The small Asian man watched intently as the larger white man inserted the key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door. Neither of them spoke, but when the door opened, the white man pulled it shut, turned the key, and locked it again. Then, he handed the key to the Asian man and stepped back, motioning to him to give it a try. The Asian man held the brass key in his hand a moment. Almost reverently, he pushed it into the lock, turned it, and *click* -- the door opened. A broad smile spread across his face as he nodded to his American friend. He had just opened the door to his own home, in the USA. I looked away, blinking the tears from my eyes. This is just one of many precious experiences we shared with Meh Reh and his family. Our House Church has sponsored this Burmese refugee family, and we’ve spent the past several days getting to know them, helping them settle into their apartment, and assisting them with their adjustment to American Lif...