Paying Attention in November-Gratitude Again

I sat in church this morning thinking about that Friday Five post and all those people I listed that I am so thankful for in my life. All the people on that list are new to my life since coming here to this place. And I thought again about the Thanksgiving service last Wednesday night and how wonderful that was to be part of, and how much it marked being part of this community. There is no doubt in my mind that this was, as I say in my blog description a "spirit-transplant." God had a whole lot to do with my being here, and my being here has a whole lot to do with God.

Life has changed a lot in six years and it keeps right on turning. And it looks like I have something new to be grateful about. It appears that I am officially "seeing someone." I am, as the little red-haired girl in Peanuts used to say, "in like" with R, and by the grace of God it seems to be mutual. So we have decided to very very very slowly continue to explore our friendship with one another while not dating other people, and see where things lead us over time. I have not been a single person for approximately ever, and a dating one for even longer than that. There are loads and loads of things about this that feel like a totally new planet. I feel so blessed to be exploring it with someone who feels safe, sane and solid. We have some important values as well as interests in common, we have enough differences to make for very interesting conversation. He makes me laugh until I can't breathe. Way last summer I once said to someone, "if I could pick someone to date, it would be someone like R" (whom I actually knew very casually as the godfather of the first baby I baptized and a dear friend of a woman in my congregation). The someone I said it to did not know him and had nothing to do with making it happen. God-incidence? Perhaps. All I know is today, there is a little happiness in my heart that feels very warm and sweet and good and I am thanking God for the gift of this new person in my life.