I am going to Virginia for Christmas. I am going to Mama Deane's to rest. She appropriately quotes from Mark 6 in reference to her lovely home on the River in Norfolk. "Come ye apart and rest awhile". It's not the desert. It is a lovely place of peace and solace. 
I met Deane in Mozambique. I recall the day quite vividly. I had only been there a few days, maybe a week, and was starting to get a little uncomfortable in our tiny house with so many people. I heard a commotion on the front porch and went to answer the door. There was a woman standing there dressed from head to toe in white linen, with about 6 suitcases, all colorful and matching. She had a Southern accent. I wanted to love her and welcome her in...but we had 10 people in this house and there was just no way she was movin' in with me. I admit I kinda gave her the cold shoulder as I began to think of another human being sharing the already overcrowded bathroom, consuming the water that I had just hauled up from the well at the bottom of the road. I stared her down, rather than hug this precious weary one. I thought she was nuts and just fell off the turnip truck showin' up in white linen to Africa of all places. Little did I know at the time, that I would fall in love with Mama Deane and all her suitcases and her white linen and her Vera Bradley and her colorful jewelry, and her humongous heart. I have learned more from Mama Deane this year than I probably have from anyone in a very long time. She has taught me about giving. She practices what she preaches, she loves to bless others and she gives wildly, because her faith and her trust rests in her God. She's been hurt, disappointed, crushed, and she uses those places of brokenness to make herself a vessel for God to use to bless others in need. She is amazing. She is a living, breathing example, that you can't out give God. She tries.
I met Deane in Mozambique. I recall the day quite vividly. I had only been there a few days, maybe a week, and was starting to get a little uncomfortable in our tiny house with so many people. I heard a commotion on the front porch and went to answer the door. There was a woman standing there dressed from head to toe in white linen, with about 6 suitcases, all colorful and matching. She had a Southern accent. I wanted to love her and welcome her in...but we had 10 people in this house and there was just no way she was movin' in with me. I admit I kinda gave her the cold shoulder as I began to think of another human being sharing the already overcrowded bathroom, consuming the water that I had just hauled up from the well at the bottom of the road. I stared her down, rather than hug this precious weary one. I thought she was nuts and just fell off the turnip truck showin' up in white linen to Africa of all places. Little did I know at the time, that I would fall in love with Mama Deane and all her suitcases and her white linen and her Vera Bradley and her colorful jewelry, and her humongous heart. I have learned more from Mama Deane this year than I probably have from anyone in a very long time. She has taught me about giving. She practices what she preaches, she loves to bless others and she gives wildly, because her faith and her trust rests in her God. She's been hurt, disappointed, crushed, and she uses those places of brokenness to make herself a vessel for God to use to bless others in need. She is amazing. She is a living, breathing example, that you can't out give God. She tries. 
So I am headed there, to sit on her quiet little dock with a cup of coffee, my book reading for school, and maybe one or two from Mama Deane's library, and my iPod. I hope to go for long runs if the weather permits and simply rest. Mama Deane has the most amazing library of books ever! They are on shelves all over the house, and often you will find multiple copies of the book. Like your very own Barnes & Noble! and she gives them to you!!! You best be careful. If you say you like something...you will come home with it! What a heart! Last time I was there she literally gave me the shirt (polar fleece) off her back as she wanted me to be warm while I waited in the airport. Just about once a month I will find a little package on my back stoop...a recently discovered book that Deane thought I would enjoy, sent to my backdoor via the convenience of http://www.amazon.com/! It is the greatest treat for me. Books and Packages are two of my favorite things! She says she likes me because she doesn't have to "re-educate" me. It makes me laugh. She likes people who think like her. She is extremely opinionated. So am I. We get along. We shake our heads when we come to the realization in our conversation that not everyone thinks like we do. So we both left little chunks of our hearts under the big stars in Africa. Deane is sponsoring several boys there, paying tuition for them to further their education, one boy is in medical school. She beams when she talks about them. So we'll sit by the fire, and talk about her boys in Africa, politics in the United States and abroad, shake our heads in disappoinment at all those people out there that just don't see things the way we do, solve all the world's problems, eat grits and drink sweet tea. 
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