South Coast Rock Tour
~ Day 10 ~
Bed and Breakfast…Elaine…Charlie the Cat…Tacos and cookies.
It was so good to be at Mike and Elaine’s abode. Their house
and their hearts are warm, like the light-yellow walls and bright, colorful
decoration that lace their home. I had stayed up till 3am writing and sitting
with the extra emotions that came from that day. Slept in till 10:30am and
wandered downstairs. My typically breakfast on the road is a banana or one of
my mom’s peanut balls (she had given me a large container of these
protein-packed golf balls). But at the Schlung’s Bed and Breakfast home, 3 eggs
and 2 pieces of toast stretched my stomach’s capacity. Elaine had the same,
minus 1 egg. Our bellies full, we migrated to her living room couches. A small
load of my soiled clothes was swishing in the background as we ebbed and flowed
in a deep couch conversation for the next 2 hours.
Elaine is someone who has been a been a steady source of
unconditional love, unsinkable hope, and unshakeable faith. She is my mom’s
friend. She is my friend. The two are accepted and separated. Elaine, like my
mom, is youthful in her beauty and youthful in her personality. I see her
mainly as a trusted friend as well as partially another mom. Our families went
to the same church when they lived in Illinois and our families have stayed
connected during their 7 years in Texas. During my 15 years in drug addiction,
Elaine was a listening ear for my mom and a shoulder to lean on for me. She has
remained these things to this day. Elaine has her own story and her experiences
have shaped her into a loving, strong, fun, compassionate, and empathizing
woman. She is a Christian who lives out her love for Jesus with her love for
people. Elaine loves people… genuine, deep love. I will write more about her in
another post as this would not be our last time together while in Austin.
The 2 of us spent the remainder of the afternoon together.
We finally got off the cozy couches and drove to her church where Elaine works
as the pastor’s secretary, though she is so much more involved and influential
than mere paperwork and schedules… her roles are expansive. Life Church is so
fortunate to have Elaine’s intelligent mind, helpful hands, and tender heart.
Elaine showed me the inside of the building and then we walked around the
multiple acre property where other buildings are going to be built. Life church
is vibrantly growing. Pastor Brian has been entrusted much and is being used
mightily by God to equip people to go and “be the church” outside of the church
building. This church and the people therein, have a deep relationship with our
Savior, rather than a shallow religion.
It was 2:30 and we decided to grab something to eat at Whole
Foods. We sat on the picnic benches, eating, and continued our conversation for
another hour. It is so easy to talk with Elaine. We can cover a plethora of
topics and go deep into each one. She and I both have analytical minds and love
asking questions. When 2 people with this combination get together, the
conversations last hours without realization of the time. Such was the case
with this woman of faith and love.
We got back to her house and I put my backpack and clean
laundry in Tumbler. I needed to be on the road by 5:30 to meet Molly for dinner
at 6:30. Hugged Elaine and her wise, kind husband Mike and hopped in Tumbler.
Was prepared to encounter heavy traffic to get to Taco Flats where Molly had
chosen to eat. The roads were surprisingly flowing smoothly and I arrived at
the restaurant 20min early. The parking lot was full, so I parked across the
busy 4-lane road in the darker side of a “customer’s only, all violators will
be towed” building. This early arrival and parking spot was another set-up by
the Holy Spirit. Was going to draw on some rocks while I waited, but saw a small
moving object near a building across from me. It was a cat! I love cats. Got
out of the truck to see if I could catch the tiny tiger. Then another moving
object was seen in the shadows… it was a person. Her name was Ella. She lived
on the streets and the cat, Charlie, belonged to her. Ella and I talked for
15min about Charlie the cat, her time on the streets, and how she had learned
to transition from living in an apartment with a job to surviving and trying to
stay alive on the streets. The 2 years of being homeless had taken its toll on
her body and her mind. I gathered that many traumatic things had happened to
her. My own wounds pulsated at sensing Ella had some of the same wounds. Ella
would smile as she shared things, yet her eyes shared sadness and waywardness.
I was stroking Charlies fur while we talked and Ella said that he normally was
not a friendly cat to strangers. Ella was given a “Love” rock. When I told
heard I needed to meet someone, she fell into my arms as if we were no longer
strangers that had just met, rather sisters who were parting ways. I held her
for a long time. She didn’t want to let go and I wanted to take some of her
pain as I held her. Ella was a wounded soul and my heart grieved for her. I’m
tearing up while writing this. Told her I would come back in a couple hours.
She didn’t believe me.
Molly and her friend Karen met me in the lobby and we found
the table where their friend, Lucie, was waiting. It was Molly’s birthday
tomorrow and I had bought a dozen roses at Whole Foods earlier that day. Had
brought in 2 roses for Molly, one for our past chapters and one for our present
chapter of friendship. Decided to give one to Karen, and wished I had brought
in 3 so Lucie could have been given one too. The women were close friends and
had shared several chapters in their life-story together. They welcomed me in
to their closeness. We each ordered chips/salsa and 2 tacos and ate, drank, and
talked for the next 2 hours. I miss Molly living in Illinois, but I’m so glad
she now lives in Texas where there are bike trails galore and beautiful friends
to ride with on those trails as well as on her journey’s path.
While inside Taco Flats, Ella’s face was in the peripheral
vision of my mind’s eye. I was present with Molly and her two friends, though I
had taken part of Ella with me into the restaurant. When the three strong,
beautiful women and I parted paths, I wanted to go back to the fragile,
beautiful women who made her new home in the shadows. Stopped at Tumbler to
grab a quart-sized bag of home-made cookies that Elaine had given me. Walked
over to the elevated cement stoop attached to the building. Five guys were
sitting on blankets and Charlie the cat came over to greet me. “Hey guys. I’m a
friend of Ella’s. Is she around?” In unison, guys pointed 10ft away past a pile
of bags. Ella was curled up under two dirty blankets in the fetal position. I
told the guys not to wake her, but they had started yelling at her to wake up and
one guy went over to her and nudged Ella with his foot. She bolted up and
yelled “No!” as when a bad dream wakes us up. The guy standing over her pointed
at me and Ella ran over into my arms. “Told you I would come back.” --- “I told
these guys about you and how Charlie loved you. I didn’t think I would see you
again.” She introduced me to each of them and then threw her arms back around
me. I talked with the guys while Ella just stayed in this perpetual hug. I’m
smiling as I write this. Gently pushing her back, I placed the bag of cookies
in her hands. She pulled out the “Love” rock from her pocket and smiled. “You
are loved, sweet Ella.” I walked away from her late that night, yet am still
carrying parts of Ella in my heart today.
We can love a stranger for a night.
Never to see them again,
Yet forever changed.
Unshakeable Peace and Purpose
Cling to the Rock
Psalm 18:1-2
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