
Dr. Calvin and Mimi Wilson
I’ve been reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. It’s story within a story. The basic story line is that the script for a movie version of Donald’s memoir Blue Like Jazz was being written, but the writers didn’t find enough action in his life to make it interesting. Consequently, Donald set out to live a larger story.
The story within his story is how to write story. The book fascinated me on both levels.
As I think about my own life, and the story I’m living, I’m thankful for friends who are living so large that their story inspires me to live beyond my own comforts. The point is to get on board in the larger Story of what God is doing on earth to build his Kingdom. As in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done….”
My friend and Once-A-Month Cooking partner Mimi Wilson and her husband Calvin will move to Rwanda in December for at least three years. Calvin, a physician who is head of International Medicine at the University of Colorado Medical School, will be training Rwandan doctors and setting up continuing education programs for them. Mimi will extending hospitality to doctors who stay in their home during training, and to many other visitors.
Mimi has a gift for hospitality. I learned many years ago not to compare myself to Mimi in this arena: to not even go there. When they were moving with their children to Ecuador many years ago, they had our family of five over for breakfast with their family of five. As Mimi served us all in the breakfast room, the movers were taking the dining room table out the front door. That’s when I decided.
Mimi asked the Lord to let her do what she loves to do in Rwanda “one more time,” and He led them to a 10-bedroom house in Kigali available to rent.
While Mimi is gone, I will hold down the fort for Once-A-Month Cooking. But more than that, I will continue to think beyond my own comfortable walls, inspired by what my friend does. Perhaps Alex and I will visit them, and sleep in one of those 10 bedrooms. Or maybe we will be watchful for guests who would like to stay in our extra bedrooms. Or maybe it will be something else entirely, something unique to each of us and our part in the larger Story.
We’re thankful for friends who keep our sights focused on a large horizon.