It's a small world

Well, our quiet time is winding down. I have come to the conclusion that I will survive the empty nest but will still do my best to ward it off for as many years as I can. Looks like we may still get in a bit of canoeing and possibly a bike ride before we collect the children from their various ports of call and rejoin the zoo.

Yesterday's excursion took us to Lancaster where we watched God weave our story with that of another in this very small world. So let's start at the very beginning; a very good place to start.

Several months back, John found a bed and breakfast on Groupon and booked it for our anniversary. The name of the B and B, The Red Umbrella, was intriguing. Turns out it came from a serious of artwork that the B and B owner found and enjoyed. The artwork, done by Liz Hess of Lancaster, includes a red umbrella in various locations throughout the word. Each room of the B and B contains at least one piece from this series. I went on the artist's website and we decided to visit her Lancaster studio yesterday.

The artist herself was working in the studio and we struck up a conversation. Her name had sounded familiar to me and when I saw on her website that she had spent several years in Sweden, I was even more certain that we were going to be winning a round of the Mennonite Game. Sure enough, she was in Sweden with someone I knew from church when I was growing up. This common connection also works in the studio several times a week but happens to be in Sweden for the summer.

This led to even more conversation and eventually The King's Strings came up (no conversation with John can conclude before The King's Strings is brought up). Liz Hess then began to talk about Lancaster's First Fridays where shops are open and many studios have live music. She mentioned that her current performers would be leaving their position in August and she was looking for new musicians.

The rest, as they say, is history. We need only discuss it with the children and look at the calendar, but it looks like we have some new gigs lined up. Anna, the owner of the bed and breakfast, is thrilled with this connection and is excited to come to one of the up-coming First Fridays to hear us.

From Groupon to income, thank you, Jesus!