I Went to Princeton...

Well, not really, but for a whole day...

Just got back this past week from a road trip up to Princeton to visit its seminary for my friend, Molly. We drove and drove and drove through six states from Saturday-Monday...yeah...whew.

But, it was totally worth it. We were M&Ms for Halloween up at James Madison University in Virginia and then, up in Princeton, we took tons of pictures of the beauty of Autumn and of that place. It really makes you think, "does this really exist?" It was so beautiful and it just made me want to read while I was there. We walked around the downtown area Sunday night and ate delicious food and ice cream. Then on Monday, we went to chapel on campus, then to lunch, and finally a nice tour.

The visit up there was somewhat of affirmation for me--the kind that made me realize that I don't want that. I do want to ask hard questions. I do want to be surrounded by people who are trying to figure it out. I do want to be surrounded by beauty. And I am. Those desires have come to fruition where I am and they can come to fruition wherever I am.

One of the things that was unsettling was the affluence so evident there. But, I also have come to this point of realizing that poverty is not just a physical state--it is represented in each of us. We must see the poverty within ourselves before we can address the poverty in others. And it is in this community of relationship that we can begin to meet poverty that we discover and that others can respond to our poverty.

It's a simple, yet complicated life we've been called to live...so here are some pictures...