Thursdays

𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔?? 𝑇ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒-𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒-𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟.

My grandfather convinced me I could accomplish more than I could imagine on a scorching Georgia July 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚. It was our last conversation. I came home to North Carolina and he passed two months later before the leaves even fell. ⠀⠀

𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡-that 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 had been where I learned what it looked like for a man to unabashedly walk with God. 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 were the day he prepared his sermon notes next to a Bible that had worn thin and hung together by its own miracle.

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠.  I used to sneak behind a living room chair so I could see him praying over 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚'𝒔 notes, frayed Bible open wide, and him knelt praying next to the other chair across the room. He embodied boldness enfleshed in humanity.

I was blessed to have seen a man live out his beliefs. He taught me the blessing of caring for others. He was real, he was human; but, he lived an honest life sharing the source of Hope.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑤 𝑑𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒.

📷: 13milesout