Companions Friday Five

The RevGals Friday Five:

Dante had Virgil as a guide. Before he had younger siblings, my oldest child had an imaginary friend named Patrick. Betsy had Tacy. Laura Ingalls depended on her brindle bulldog, Jack. All of them were companions on the way.

As we take the beginning steps of our journey through Lent, who would we take as a companion? Name five people, real or imaginary, you might like to have with you as guide or guardian or simply good friend.


Five people? Only five? I'll refer to yesterday's post if you're unclear as to why that poses a challenge to me.

I attended (most of) a conference on formation ministries today. The retreat leader asked us to reflect on the people who had greatly impacted our faith formation. It was a lovely question, and, even more lovely for me because of the top five people I would name, three of them are taking part in the conference. I really enjoyed that moment, realizing how blessed I am to have these women still in my life. They were, and still are, companions on my journey because this journey would simply be different if they had not been along for the ride.

So, I will expand my companion list today beyond those women, and dream a bit more. For this Lent? This year?

Anne LaMott - She'll make an appearance in Lent for me, as one of our book reviews at church will be about Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. But this year, I'd love to have her pointing out the humor, the grace, the moments of God in my life because she makes me laugh.

Saint Clare: Because I don't think she'd put up with much bs.

Luke: Not the Gospeller. My Luke. I just like to include him to remind myself of how lucky I am that this one isn't imaginary. Also, he makes me laugh and doesn't put with bs.

Amy & Emily: Better known as The Indigo Girls. I'm making music part of my Lenten practices, inlcuding picking up my guitar more often (which isn't saying much, but anyway...) How awesome would it be to have them helping me, singing with me, teaching me little tricks, talking and drinking coffee and and and...

My seminary friends, who are scattered far & wide: Today, I'm especially missing that community... games, lunches, movies, Gilmore Girls, road trips, late night discussions about universal salvation. How we ever found time for class, I'll never know. But whether it was sorting through discernment questions, slogging through tough readings for class, preparing for a chapel service, or debating the finer points of leadership (also known as watching The Apprentice) - community was never far away. I miss that, and I miss you all.

Technically, thats way more than five people. But again, I refer you to the previous post. 80% extroverted, people!