We are connected

The world is a huge place, truly. I was reading a book to Caleb today that had a picture of the globe in it, and as I pointed to the tiny speck at the top of Great Britain that is where we live, I regarded the rest of the enormous planet and thought: wow. It really is hard to comprehend the scope of the earth, and yet almost every day I have an experience that makes me feel like maybe "it's a small world after all" could possibly also be true.

Like meeting a post-grad's wife for the first time and finding out she grew up in the town where Brian went to college. Or meeting some people at a party and finding out they are good friends with a couple we became good friends with at Duke last year. Or meeting the University chaplain in the ladies' washroom at the Stirling services rest stop while we were en route back home after our Easter trip. Crazy! And right now, a volcano in Iceland is having a pretty big impact on a huge chunk of the planet, and though we might not appreciate its effects on our flight plans, we have to appreciate that it's part of living on this earth together.

At any rate, Brian's and my interest in theology and disability means that more and more names and places are becoming familiar, and more and more connections made in the network mean that it is slowly becoming more fathomable. I like to see the workings of the church and feel that at some level we are working and striving in similar ways across the globe. I like that loving God and loving His people with disabilities in the church has given me a sense of purpose and place in this crazy big world. Even little Adam, without words or big flashy possessions, has had an impact in his own way around the world.

The people I met in London this week are amazing, and the work they are doing in the Catholic church for and with people with disabilities is inspiring. There are great things afoot, and I'm pleased to be able to watch and learn from what is happening and be part of it as I'm called to. I hope to see this tight little network grow and grow over the years. I hope it will be a little like the ash from this volcano--it will slowly spread out and people won't be able to ignore it any longer.