Martha and John run a bookstore in the little town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Martha used to have a successful business designing greeting cards and John was an antique book dealer. Now they rent the building that houses their bookstore and they live above it in a second floor apartment.

Martha and John have everything they need. They are modern models of abundant living. The bookstore fulfills their dream of creating community space. They provide free coffee and tea and actively encourage people not to buy things in order to bring a sense of balance back to the common space. So much of our common space today is skewed toward commodities and transactions. Though the official hours of the store are from 10am until 5pm, the reality is that they're open from whenever Martha and John get up until whenever they go to bed.

Their business plan is to make enough money to keep the doors open. Their merchandise is all previously owned (all the books are used) or on consignment (carpets, rocks, crystals). Everyone who visits this bookstore becomes aware that the place has a restorative energy. It is a life-giving community space, a reality directly related to the fact that the couple is there for the purpose of living out their dream, their life priority. Theirs is a place of Sabbath, a place bathed in an alternative set of values.

Theologian Frederick Buechner (Peculiar Treasures) reflected on the Old Testament story about Abraham and Sarah. After being visited by an angel and discovering, in their old age, that they would be becoming parents. Sarah laughed. Abraham probably laughed, too.  "The reason they laughed was that it suddenly dawned on them that the wildest dreams they'd ever had hadn't been half wild enough."

How many of us can say that about our lives and our journeys? My tendency has been to play life somewhat safe by figuring out what people want from me and then doing my best to give it to them. But I am convinced now that living that way is far less than what God hopes for us-far less than the potential of our lives. We are not called by God to have more than we need, but we are called to make full use of all that we do have and all we can create-called to some wild dreams. And then we'll be entrusted with more.

This is the lesson of Martha and John and the learning of Abraham and Sarah. We have a choice to make time and time again throughout our lives. It is the choice of where and how to seek abundance. We can get caught up in the cycle of wanting more and needing more-ultimately a life posture focused on what we don't have. This way is a trap. The more we seek to fill our perceived needs, the more we find that our sense of lacking just grows. Or we can seek to know our dream, to sing our song, and to write our poem. For the most part, we'll not get ahead financially along this path, but we will find all we need--more than enough resources--to thrive.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.
  
Jack Price

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