Skotness, dinner and celebration

It is my birthday. I am turning 43. it is an age I am both strangely comfortable with and yet at war with. It is odd how both these things can come to live along side each other. I have grown into my forties. It was indeed a life changing experience in many ways turning 40 and it was for me, a time of inner turmoil and reflection. I guess as these past three years have swept me up along with them, being "in my forties" has come to have a settled familiarity. We have become strange  friends.

Last night some good friends of ours took us out for dinner. It was one of the best meals I have ever eaten out and I thoroughly enjoyed ever part of it. I am no food snob but at times I really am surprised at what restaurants serve up and then charge for. But last night was different. The restaurant in this case is Catrina's in Steenberg Estate.   I am sure if you have visited it you will know what I mean by the special experience we had there. I won't bore you with the details of the food we ate but except to say each of us had something different and each of us had a gastronomically colourful experience. I know that the company and conversation went much of the way in making the evening an almost perfect experience.  God is generous and kind and blesses us in so many ways.

It was late and we were all happy and full. We get up to leave and wam I am shocked into reality. As I turn to the side I take in the art work hanging from the wall. A Am I seeing things? I ask the watron casually, " Is that a Cecil Skotnes? and original? ". As I ask her I know the answer. I have loved his work and in fact grew up loving one of his art works. We had some old great , life friends who knew him and so Jeniffer had a long, slender cat he had done on her wall. I grew up enjoying the cat all my childhood. The when I studied art at school and then in college we covered him in depth. I grew to love his strange human figures and earthy colours. So here, at the end of the perfect evening I am blessed to enjoy an original. " there is another over here"., she says.. I go to it and feel it with my eyes and then with my hands. A gastronomically delight to my eyes.. I leave full of good food ; filled up and encouraged by God's good gift of generosity and love ; filled up with good conversation and God centered debate  and filled up with gratitude because God blesses us end delights us and surprises us with small and seemingly insignificant detail. Once again I see Jesus standing there, invisible to the eye and yet so very clearly shouting in his gentle way. " I know your heart and want to remind you that I am here and I love you!"