Today I talked to my brother in Australia, drank tea, ate lunch, spent some time with God, watched Part 1 of The Pacific, drank tea, played some PS3, did some reading, talked to my old friend Ash (for the first time in years!), played some more PS3, had dinner and dessert with TiTi and James and Christine, drank tea, played some more PS3 (with Tim, this time).
Didn’t change my clothes at all today.
It. Was. Awesome.
It’s strange being back in the UK for the first time since I left in fall 2006.
Four years ago, I hadn’t experienced a year of integrating politics and faith with Sojourners in Washington, DC. Four years ago, I didn’t even care about politics; I’d never heard of Barack Obama, let alone volunteered for his campaign. Four years ago, God hadn’t yet broken my heart for the poor, or stirred me to anger against injustice. Four years ago, I was still figuring out what I was going to do with my life—how I was supposed to weave together the disparate passions and talents I’d been entrusted with.
And most of my friends in the UK have missed out on that part of my life. Many of them haven’t seen the last four years of growth and maturing, of heartbreak and healing, of discovering my calling and the joy that comes with that. And I wish they had.
So it’s been a little sad. Much of this past week I’ve been reflecting in a fairly resigned way how we’ve grown apart, how God has led us in different directions, how friendships that used to be so close are no longer so, how people who played such important roles in my life no longer do. I know God is doing great things in each of our lives, and I’m glad for that.
But, like Hong Kong, it seems London is destined to become (and is already becoming) just another place I spent time in—formative years, life-changing years, years when I encountered God through and among some amazing people—but home no longer.
On August 28, 1963 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech. There’s still a long, long way to go …
I got to see LIGHTS last night at Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross, London. It’s the second time I’ve seen her this year, the first being in Constitution Hall in DC when she was supporting Owl City. It was definitely a different venue and a different atmosphere: much smaller, more intimate. But it was a good, good gig. I think I love this girl … 
Here are a few pics:
A couple of favorites from the latest White House Flickr batch (both photos by Pete Souza):
Above: President Barack Obama jokingly puts his toe on the scale as Trip Director Marvin Nicholson, unaware to the President’s action, weighs himself as the presidential entourage passed through the volleyball locker room at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, Aug. 9, 2010.
Above: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s hands rest on the railing of a boat during their tour of St. Andrews Bay in Panama City Beach, Fla., Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010.
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