Brilliant by Association?

Today I'm reminded again how many truly phenomenal people touch my life. It is humbling to share conversation or even just read their words and get a sense that these are people who are grasping something of reality that is still beyond me. Is it a goood thing or a bad one that this seems to happen to me quite often?

Mike and Sarah Eggert are friends who have left the safety and comfort of Oakville, Ontario for the uncertainties of Malawi, taking three sons including a baby with them when they went. They said (with a sincerity that makes cliches absolutely real) "We believe we're safer in Malawi obeying God than we could ever be in Oakville doing something other than what He's calling us to". I love and miss them, and I deeply admire them. Read this and you'll get a sense of why I admire them so much.

I also got to spend several hours this evening with a family who, in the three years I've known them, have taught me how deep and vast God's idea of community really is. Paul and Elizabeth Millar are thoughtful, fascinating, and a lot more like Jesus than I am. Every time we get oour families together I realise how much more frequently I need to do so. You can only get a vague glimpse of how outstanding they are in their simple normalcy from Paul's blog but it will get you started.

I could easily go on and tell you about several others, but there are too many and it's too hard to choose, and those are the ones who inspired me today.