I hit things in my car.
Or at least I used to do that. I haven’t actually hit anything for a long time, but there have been seasons where either I’ve been the rear-ender or I’ve been the recipient of another car’s bumper.
But that is in the way past…
{Oh, there was that time last month in the parking lot of the supermarket where I just TAPPED that guys bumper. Seriously just TAPPED it. But when I got out of the car to apologize profusely, he was so nice and said he didn’t even feel it.
Big. Sweaty. Sigh. Of. Relief.}
Collisions: my paint rubs off on your paint and we leave dents in each other. It doesn’t really matter who collides into who, the affects are all the same. We change the shape of one another’s car.
I don’t know how to explain the different worlds that collided this past week when 6 of our friends from the internet {oh, yes, we are those kind of people} invaded our home for ten days.
They just left yesterday morning.
I know God is teaching me something from their love. I know it. But I think I’m still processing it all and I’m doing a poor job of it. I’ve only been able to focus on laundry, groceries and returning the athletic shoes I bought for Hope for school because the size was mismarked.
They attended church with us, they ate with us, watched old Shark Week with us, cooked for us. We ate spaghetti instead of crab and we squeezed past one another on the way to the bathroom. We went to the Hollywood Bowl, the beach, and Starbucks about 809 times. We just did life together.
Their lives and our lives collided for more than a simple weekend. And somehow it worked.
They left a serious, beautiful dent in our hearts that I don’t ever want to fix.
Has anyone left a dent in your heart lately?
Very familiar with that dent; I’ve got one too, and it’s never getting fixed. Good thing too.
Last Saturday was my birthday. Our daughter could not come home this year for my big event, so she brought NY to me!!!! She went to Chelsey Market, a really cool Market in Manhattan and knowing I love to snack, sent me every single snack I love! And they all had a cool logo from places everyone goes to in NY! I’m the luckiest MoM having a daughter like her who left a humongous dent in my heart. How precious indeed!!! So glad you had friends who made your day!!!
Sarah, love this post and describing it as a dent on your heart is perfect. My dent was created by the a group of friends i got to serve in Ethiopia with a few weeks ago, they along with the people we met in country, left a huge dent that well wont ever go away.
glad you had such a good time with your friends, the pics are beautiful.
Actually, Sarah, you and Chad have left a big dent in MY heart this morning! I watched your CBN interview for the first time and was so affected by your story told first hand. I’ve read it before, but seeing you and Chad tell it is much more powerful. You have left a dent in my heart that beats with a passion to help marriages in anyway we possibly can. We will be sharing this video with our readers on Friday – thank you for your humility and honesty. It is powerful and makes a dent worth keeping!
Blessings to you both!!
Debi, thank you for being willing to be dented!!
wow! thank you debi!
What a great way to describe how relationships can affect us! I love the image!
Isn’t it amazing the capacity our hearts have for love, and the people who leave their mark that you just never would have guessed? It doesn’t take long either . . . If we’re willing to take the risk.
We recently had a visitor from England live with us for a week — our boys’ soccer coach. Hearts dented. And now a friend I’ve never met that lives in another state . . . heart dented again. And I didn’t even see it coming.
I love this concept. Your comment “my paint rubs off on your paint” makes perfect sense for when we meet someone and really get to know them part of who they are and part of we are is reflected in the relationship. It becomes a blending of two colors.
Keep pressing forward … blessings to you.
I love this! You know, it’s funny. Every time I read/see/hear about my blog friends spending time together like this, it makes me just so happy. Okay, a tiny bit jealous. But mostly really happy.
Teary-eyed at work. Big ol’ dent here. Might go so for as to say I feel wrecked. Came back different. Still processing different how.
Thank you so much for your hospitality, your warmth, your love. Nothing made me happier than texting with your husband last night about dates and flight options for The Markleys Take Over Nashvegas.
it will happen. =)
Beautiful! I love when you use pictures. Wonderful friendship!
Love,
Traci
Such a sweet post. And all I want to add to it is this: sometimes God uses some bizarre situations to leave those dents on our hearts. It’s important to be open to anything He might send our way.
Dent? Dare I say it, but the same people, plus you and Chad. Saturday night’s get together is still echoing around me – how blessed I am to just *know* such awesome, genuine, loving people.
…and sometimes the dents hurt, but even those dents give us character
love this…
collision theology…AWESOME!
Jesus collided with us & our stuff…HARD!
amazing, girl…
love ya
dad
Love this and meeting people you know from the Internet is so much fun!
Well . . .I’m crying. Isn’t that a weird response! I thought it was going to be about hurting each other, but then this. This denting of the heart. I tend to get dented by everyone I meet, most everything I do.(And that includes you and other bloggers and internet friends) I’m glad it’s okay to walk around like this!
love you! deb
Thank you for sharing about your dent(s). Yes, I’ve had dents this past week too.. ones that make my heart ache. I had my youngest (and only daughter)go off to college and a son (who is 20) come home to stay a while~ who is having medical problems… my other son (22) is planning for his wedding in June. Ah, yes… those dents. We do brush each other, and even get paint and dents on each other… but it’s so worth it.
love this. love you.
Yes, oh yes!
a dear lady friend of ours (whom we clean house for and help out) has been ever so sweet to us; she leaves beautiful dents in my heart; every time we’re together.
And then sometimes I read a blog post like this one and I think to myself, “That just made my day”- my heart is happy!
how beautiful!
Oh how fun! Yes – my world has collided too because of the internet. Maybe one day you and I can collide.
i would like that. =)
YES! THis is what it should be, shouldn’t it?!?
Us loving each other as Jesus so much that we leave bits of ourselves on those closest to us? That we leave our unique pieces that He put into us, that we pour the Jesus he gave us individually that’s unique back into others, so that as a whole, we’re what He intended, so that the Body is full. and complete.
We’re better together.
Just last night, skyping with my best friend…being full of laughter and ease knowing I am understood. Priceless.
SO glad you were all able to get together, what fun!!
[...] has been writing a lot about relationship and community this week. On Tuesday she wrote about the dents people leave in our lives when we come in contact with them. Then on Thursday she wrote about [...]