Puttering in People's Hearts

I am not a chit-chatter.  I’m often accused of a “cutting too close to the bone” conversational style.  I am exceedingly and painfully shy.  I have a hard time knowing what to say and the anxiety of it often causes me to say nothing.  I am truly very interested, interested in the person, the real person.  Not what they do for a living but what they would die for.  Not their favorite restaurant but what they think about God.  Not what they did yesterday but what they would do if they could have their dream life.  I find people oddly intriguing and want to know them intimately.  This is both a curse, men normally aren’t like that and aren’t wanting to share it anyway and today it’s never good to venture too deep into a woman's heart (except your lover); and a blessing, there is always someone who will throw in with me and share their story, allow me to putter around in their hearts.  I live a fairly adventurous life, I enjoy a good footpath, poking into far corners and seeing what’s around that bend yonder, to see if I can touch the bottom.  The same goes for people, I long to know the times they’ve gone the distance, submitted, came away scarred but alive, lived beyond their emotional means, survived, and thrived.  We had our annual Benson get-together yesterday, all were present but fourteen, eleven of which were mine, gotta share that time with other families.  I laid in bed in the early morning hours today thinking about all those people, most of whom I know a lot about.  We are a curious lot, centered solidly in Christ.  We’ve been around the bend, straightened by the deadly curves, scarred terribly, self, God, family, and others inflicted but we are strong, very strong, and boy do we have stories.  All in all, I had a great Thanksgiving, I know many of the skeletons in the closets, names of the wounded, those who are about to summit, and those like me who are passing them on our way down. We are a clan, an all-for-one and one for all, in it to the end, puttering in each other’s hearts, family, children of God.  Amen.  Let Advent begin.  Let me be the first to say, Merry Christmas.