The Windfall

There I was
young, innocent, curious
out for a new experience
in a new group of people - Roman Catholic!
I saw her standing there
chubby
in a flowered muu-muu
shiny grey hair
and sparkling eyes
holding a guitar.
Love oozed out of her
from every pore.

Later I asked her if she spoke in tongues.
I'd been reading the Bible
and was fascinated with that phenomenom
because I was a linguist.

She looked at me
serious now.
Yes she said.
I speak in tongues
but you won't.
You're in your head.
You must go to your heart
in order to speak in tongues.

I was still fascinated as our small circle
joined hands and prayed,
Lord, fill us with your Spirit
and bring us safely back next week.

I opened my eyes.
The world was a different place.
I was different too.
Divine love had flooded me
like water rushing into an empty lock in a canal.
except that it bubbled up
from somewhere deep within me.
I knew, KNEW the words then,
You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.
Truth wasn't about knowledge.
It wasn't about finding the right words.
It is experiencing the presence of God
and following that presence into freedom.

The windfall turned my world upside down.
More to come.