For the Barren and the Past-Their-Prime

Night Watch Advent series - Day 2

Elephant Bar, the BYOF hub of hospitality where I once witnessed someone hauling in a 9x13 pan of taco dip and where I learned I like peach cider.

Day 2 - For the Barren and the Past-Their-Prime

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“For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 2:37

For many years, Monday nights found us down in a church basement that smelled like plastic ivy and tasted like belonging. Across endless iterations, those potluck-and-Bible-study evenings were kept sacred for my family and other Monday night Misfits; frazzled parents of rowdy boys, one self-described “cranky old lady”, divorced dads, errant teenagers, Ruby’s birth-grandparents who joined us on a whim after an unimaginable grief.

Charles was a regular, captivating us with his funny stories, disarming us with his honesty and intelligence. He came bearing gifts, most significantly, his then-girlfriend Jessica and his best friend, Wayne. It wasn’t long before Wayne brought his girlfriend, Amy. This is how it went, how we grew over time, the bubbling yeast of curiosity and togetherness baking into something as mystical and basic as bread. Charles, his friends, and countless others had seen some things: trauma, incarceration, homelessness, disability, addiction, and ongoing mental health intervention. Hemmed in by our shared value of collective belonging, people shared their truths.