I spent a good portion of the day in The Rabbit Room. It’s Jonathan’s fault. He was a year younger than me in high school, so I suppose the same holds today. He was a sharp young man then, witty and creative and dapper, to boot. I rediscovered him some time ago, and the years have only deepened his wit and wisdom. I have no doubt about his dapperness, though I haven’t seen him in person.
He wrote this–a painful tribute to his foray into beekeeping. You should read it now. I’ll wait. That was my invitation down the Rabbit Hole into the Rabbit Room. Be warned–you may not surface for hours.
I read and read and read. I listened to (and am currently listening to) Rabbit Room Radio. I paused and pondered. I made a second pot of coffee. I pulled out my guitar and my journal. I listened to podcasts. Then I read more–pages and pages of articles that stirred my soul, made me think.
Here’s something Jonathan wrote titled Where Babies Come From: The Gospel Uses of Comedy:
There’s a deep pleasure in the gospel that nobody talks about very much, and it is the pleasure of saying, “Oh, What a fool I have been! I was so sure I knew how this thing was going to turn out. I shaped my life around a foolish assumption that the world was telling me the truth about itself and my place in it. I was so wrong! Halleluiah! I lived in fear of things that had no power to harm me! I thought I had to exert my will and get my way! But now I don’t have to anymore. Halleluiah!”
I haven’t seen or talked to Jonathan since I graduated (and that’s a long time ago.) As I listened to him read some of his words today, I could picture him just as we were back in high school. I imagine that we would spend a good portion of our time today discussing life, family, good books, and faith, as we both seem to hold those things in high regard.
If I lived near Nashville I would hope to find myself in some of those same creative circles, doing life with folks who are committed to telling The Story in new and compelling ways. That sort of community seems to be life-giving, doesn’t it?
I wonder if we could start something like that here in Happy Valley…
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