Ya'll come back now, you hear?

Sabbath Sunday was anything but calm on the farm this week. Our usual routine this summer has been a slow, early arising with a quiet routine for the day. Michael begins his day walking the farm while I write, read and do barn chores. When he returns, we eat breakfast and watch CBS Sunday Morning, a calm, hopeful presentation. We read the paper, eat lunch and nap. The afternoon is spent visiting friends, sitting on porches or in hammocks under the trees. Farm time slows us all down and we take deep breaths of peace and quiet. But not this week.
Friends from Alabama were bringing their youngest son to begin college at Warren Wilson. They were spending the night with us so I was busy about the preparations for hospitality... housecleaning, bedmaking, mopping and dusting up a storm. Michael helped in between breaks in the Olympic action. It all got done in time and we enjoyed being with Bart, Linda and Owen. I hugged Linda and remembered how it felt to leave our youngest child Adam at a school far away from home. I whispered in her ear "Call me if Owen needs us. I won’t rat you out if you just need me to check in on him." Her eyes blurred with tears for a minute and she whispered, "You do understand."
Monday afternoon, friends who have known us for nearly forty years came. One couple now li ve in Black Mountain and it has been a joy to be close again. Cannan and James were church, seminary and neighbor friends. I babysat her kids, taught them piano lessons, and watched them grow up. We belonged to the "Ladies Aid Club that Comes to the Aid of the Ladies", met once a month, and ate in every restaurant on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky. We were there when she and James married ,celebrating their finding and loving one another. The other couple, Andy and Judy, knew us before we were married. We sat last night remembering how we met and the part Andy played in our courtship drama. He and Judy live in Fort Worth, Texas and we don’t often have the luxury of time together. We sat on the deck watching the sunset spectacular, seeing dusk creep up over the mountains and settle on us like a soft grey blanket. You can’t make new old friends
Earlier in the weekend our friend Tara dropped in with one of her sons. We hung out, lounged around, looked at the horses and donkeys, caught up, celebrated the good in our lives and remembered some of the past. Tim and Jeannie, David and Di joined us on the front porch Sunday morning for a farm meeting. The meeting ended but the hanging around continued. No rush, no push, no anxiety... just being. We laughed about our Saturday visitor to the farm, a black bear who cleaned out Tim and Jeannie’s bird feeder. The bear was thin and hungry and the bird seed had fruit and nuts in it. When Jeannie c alled, we all rushed quietly to see him before he melted back into the woods.
A busy weekend... a time full of work and play... connection to people we love who love us... quiet contemplation of all the gifts that surround us... friendship quilt time with pieces and patches of friendship stitched together with laughter, love and tears...and above all, gratitude for the grace that surrounds us in our lives here at Sabbath Rest Farm. Like Job, we remember and give thanks that in our autumn days, the friendship of God rests upon our tent. And like generations of southerners before me, I ask the same question, make the same statement they did as friends come and go... Ya’ll come back now, you hear? Come and bring your blessings and grace, love and friendship to us here at Sabbath Rest Farm. We'll have clean sheets on the bed and a pitcher of cold sweet tea waiting.