Whatcha' Need

I had the privilege of meeting an admired author yesterday. I've wanted to meet him for some time and he was in town for some meetings. A friend I know invited me to an intimate luncheon, of which said author was the guest. It was really a pleasure. He was exactly how I imagined him - quiet, listening, wise and gracious. I asked him a few questions and he readily answered them, complete with smiles and eye contact. I tried hard not to weigh down the moment with author envy or any of the other common sins of us wanna-bees. I went into the day really believing that my lunch experience would be all about this gentleman; however, it wasn't...

Our lunch table arrangement was less than desirable. The U-shape of the tables left me about four people removed from the author, sitting beside an editor I had met once before. Out of person-seated-next-to-you-courtesy, we began talking about books, writing, faith and melancholy. And what began as courtesy quickly transformed into delight. Said editor is quiet, listening, wise and as I quickly discovered, gracious. He doesn't have the name recognition of the author, but interestingly enough, he edited many of the author's books. I ended up lobbing a few questions at the author just to justify my presence at the luncheon; my real desire was to keep talking with this editor. Funny, isn't it? You wait for something for a long time, and then discover it's not about that thing but something else. I think brother Mick articulated it best: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need."

The trick is being able to realize this in the moment and be graced by an editor or who or whatever else the moment is really about. I could have spent the rest of the day ticked off because I got a crappy seat by an editor, for Pete's sake. But thanks to the Grace that keeps this world, my heart happened to be open that afternoon - open enough to see what...or who was right beside me. I think brother Merton articulated this best: "My chief care...my one desire and my one joy should be to know: 'Here is the thing that God has willed for me. In this His love is found, and in accepting this I can give back His love to Him and give myself with it to Him.'"