The Invitation

It wasn't supposed to happen this way....but it did. She, invited me.... who would have thought. And...it made all the difference.

When it comes to my faith, usually I am the one doing the inviting.... I am not sure why it happened differently this time....It was unexpected, unintended and unsolicited.  But, boy am I glad!  

You see, there was a special building being built in her town, in fact, just down her street.  A house of faith. Interestingly not of hers, but of mine... further pushing the envelope of irony.  The invite was for me to come there and show her this special building:

LDS Cordoba Temple

She had been watching it being built for a few years just a few blocks from her house.  So, one day last fall she asked me if I knew about it.... Uh...No, I didn't (Yikes..) So I looked up the webpage and informed myself.  She asked about the "Open House", so I explained that it would be open to the public for a few weeks before being dedicated.  She then invited me to come down and go through the open house with her and family... Hmmm.  ......What do you think I did?

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What is it about invitations that are so seductive?   Think about a recent one you have received?  Maybe it was to a wedding, a graduation, or just going to get coffee with a friend... Remember how you felt?  It was probably unconscious, and didn't even register, but what you do remember was that it was cool, that you were glad for the invitation no matter what the event was. It was exciting.  Yes, maybe the wedding reception was horrible, but the invite was cool wasn't it...? That is what an invitation does... Even the smallest of invites beckons and the feeling of being invited lingers on.... at least it does for me.  It creates anticipation for something that we are to be part of.....Who doesn't love that?  Being part of something, feeling accepted, feeling part of something bigger....yes, even a community....


After accepting this particular invite and traveling half way around the world and back, I reflect and wonder if maybe it was for a different reason altogether.....Maybe it was more about friendship and connecting than just about special buildings......

To me, friendship begins with an invitation.  It doesn't "ask"..... rather it hopes you see yourself "in it"... it draws you in....  That is the power of an invitation.  It poses a simple question, it is only then......that the real work of your response begins.....

 "A real conversation always contains an invitation. You are inviting another person to reveal themself to you, to tell you who they are or what they want....or what they need."

Then there are those special delicious ones that invite you...."home".  Ahh!  The few fleeting ones that create that  incredibly wonderful burn in the heart that registers when home is found.  Because what really happens when you find home, is that you find yourself, all over again.  You see the best of yourself. You remember who you really are.  A sudden remembrance that you mean something to someone, or a place. They almost always mean that the one inviting is hoping for the same thing themselves. There is a mutual understanding that is indescribable.....Both parties feel it to their core.  But they cannot explain it.  They share this feeling of "home" together in beautiful mutual acceptance...no conditions, no expectations, no promises just complete trust and sharing of what is most important to one another.  The true excitement and beauty is centered in the irresistible feeling of being accepted for exactly who each other really are.  Apparent differences in culture, faith, language, background melt away.  It is like pouring magic powder into water, dissolving instantly together that produces an intoxicating drink that satisfies but never truly sates. 

I accepted this particular invitation thinking that I was going to show and share part of me...I did....But what I received in return was so much more than anything I could offer.  I watched in quiet amazement a labor of love that taught me so much.  The gift wasn't being there, it was witnessing what was being done there.  So much love and sacrifice for others, much less fortunate, never treating them anything less than equal, always with ultimate respect.  

"And there are those who have little and give it all.  These are the believers in life and bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.  There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward."                                                                                         Gibran                                                                                                            

No.... it wasn't suppose to happen this way... but it did...She invited me... and it made all the difference in the world.