{"id":373,"date":"2020-04-21T17:03:05","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T21:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/?p=373"},"modified":"2020-04-21T17:03:06","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T21:03:06","slug":"together-in-solitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/2020\/04\/together-in-solitude\/","title":{"rendered":"Together in Solitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I walk down the center aisle past silent rows of crimson\nseats.  Their very emptiness reminds me\nof the faces, families, and fun times that we have shared in this building as\nwe have worshipped, worked, and loved each other.
\n
\nNow walking into this building Sunday is an exercise in solitude.  No children are running the halls, in and out\nof classrooms, snatching donuts from the table in the fellowship hall.  The hubbub of voices is replaced by my\nechoing footfalls as I hurry to the \u201cstreaming studio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stream is over and I go online, I see the comments.  \u201cWe are here!\u201d  \u201cGlad to \u2018see\u2019 everyone this morning!\u201d   \u201cSo excited to connect!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although they are simple typed comments, they resonate with\na joy and excitement that is familiar. \nIt is the digital analogue to what used to happen among the rows of\ncrimson chairs.  It is joy in connection,\nshared moments, corporate worship, and being known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents send me pictures drawn that morning, or post\npictures of the kids interacting with me on the screen.  I didn\u2019t see them, but they saw me and knew\nthat I loved them and were excited. 
\n
\nWe were together even in our solitude.
\n
\nSuddenly the large empty room down the hall is less haunting.  Love has been communicated back and\nforth.  Connection has been reforged and\nfriendships not only maintained, but strengthened and broadened.  We have not become less connected although\nthe sensations are lesser.  We have, in a\nstrange and spiritual way, become more bonded. \nOur shared experience has boiled away the diluted moments, causing us to\npack more joy even into a small Facebook comment, \u201cwe are here!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moments of solitude have made me so much more aware of\nthe value of our togetherness.  We\u2019re\nalone, but alone here together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I walk down the center aisle past silent rows of crimson seats.  Their very emptiness reminds me of the faces, families, and fun times that we have shared in this building as we have worshipped, worked, and loved each other. Now walking into this building Sunday is an exercise in solitude.  No children are running … Continue reading Together in Solitude<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":375,"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions\/375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beanscorner.org\/zion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}