Being at the assembly this weekend was like an All-You-Can-Eat buffet. The connections plopped in my path from breakfast to an after dinner ride in a white electric bus. Even the constant presence of these cheerful ferries from one building to another felt like I had been transported to the spiritual world, where people want nothing more than to help each other. One time I was the only rider, but the driver cheerfully took me anyway, and we had a chat about his hobby on the ski slopes. 

 

One woman approached me at dinner when my last brownie was gone. She is from Tennessee and her accent made me feel like we were on a wrap around porch. 

 

"I just want to say that I have been reading your Marriage Moats since they first began. I know all about your family." She smiled. The sugar from the brownie kicked in, and I was no longer tired. "I read them. Every morning, with my coffee."

 

I was eager to make up for lost time, on our one-sided conversation. She told me about her thirty-five years as a sign language interpreter, which morphed into managing all the medical translators for eleven hospitals. I wanted to applaud, which in ASL is simply a vibrating hand. What a contribution to society, to help people be understood. 

 

Another connection was part of a workshop on Listening. For a fistful of minutes, another woman and I exchanged heartfelt pieces of our lives, even the parts that ache. 

 

Then there was a workshop about reading the Word. In a circle of forty people, mostly women, we talked about our efforts, and failings, in regard to making time to listen to God. 

 

I attended a talk by an inspirational speaker, and enjoyed that rush that comes from an auditorium full of optimism. Plus, the laughter was like icing. 

 

I could go on, and on. But even at an All-You-Can-Eat it makes sense to exercise moderation.