I was fussing over plan drawings of our "new" South Campus yesterday, worrying myself over details. I -- actually, Peace and I -- are going through some changes together -- peace taking on more space with the departure of Allstate, me absorbing some of that space (God willing) as my practice grows -- and I have to move.

If one can confess one's self-interest publically, I admit to briefly envying that corner office with the private entrance and the bathroom and the storage room -- aka the Youth Room. Of course, God, or at least Peace, have other plans, and I am likely to move to where Allstate is -- and that's OK. I am thankful for the opportunity to be co-located.

And then I muse over what happens in that room. Like Vegas, what happens there stays there but it is a badly kept secret that it has become a favorite spot for more groups than just our Youth at Peace. In fact, they deserve some kudos for sharing that space with the rest of us. A lot of what goes on there can be, ahem, boisterous -- and I give thanks for the sound insulation in those walls between my office and that room. But I think that is cool -- a place where people -- of all ages and all genders -- meet to share -- and laugh -- and pray together. Think what you will of the church across the street -- this space -- sans cross, communion rail, organ, and altar -- is holy ground. God is there. Every day.

Which brings me back to the youth. What a blessing we have among us. Their testimony in worship a few weeks ago was inspiring, mostly because it was so honest. Adults know just how hard that is -- to get before your peers, not to mention strangers -- and expose your spiritual side. In a few more weeks we will see a very large Confirmation Class go through a ritual familiar to many of us. My prayer is that it is not the last time they share themselves with us, and that it is the next step in a long journey in Christ's footsteps.

Outside my window right now, there is a father cardinal watching over mom and some eggs. He is squawking at me, and raising a fuss. Mind you -- I am inside the house typing away on this keyboard -- two feet from an open window. He is in the thicket of a very tall holly tree-bush on the side of the house, shielding the window. Imagine, I am disturbing his quiet time, encroaching on his space, threatening his family. As he squawks, what is he trying to say? And why now?

God only knows.

A small reminder that we are all just one piece of an amazing creation. That life goes on outside our own personal space. That God is all around us -- in other people, in nature. That life begins anew, and that Youth hold so much promise. That as adults, our inclination is to be protective. That as Youth, the inclination is to be restive. That we depend upon one another.

For now, I'll close the window and draw the shade, to give the family some privacy -- and look to the future when those eggs open and its more than dad squawking at me.