Small World is an understatement

On saturday, I had the opportunity to hang out with a friend I've known since 7th grade. We used to go to the same church, and hang out all the time. We even used to visit each other while in college, which didn't happen with any other friends from high school or church. She got married a few years ago, moved around, yadda yadda yadda... Anyway, her husband is overseas serving in Kuwait (Go Joe!) and she's been...bored.

Ditto, here.

So we spent the day catching up on about 5 years on missed communication, which was cool. Throughout the day, we talked about church, both past and present. Out of nowhere, she starts spouting names of people she knows from somewhere, and I happen to know the same people from my current church. Weird....

We end up at the bowling alley that night. The 20-something group was throwing an event that had something to do with trucker hats and mullets... I looked pretty dapper in my mullet, if I do say so myself. (Probably the only time I will every voluntarily cut my hair into one of fashion's biggest blunders.) But as my friend and I are sitting around and talking to everyone, I get a tap on my shoulder because I'm about to be introduced to someone.

"Nate, I'd like you to meet..."

"Wait, I already know you!"

It turned out to be a girl who I used to be friends with WAY back in the day. Our families went to the same small church until I was in 6th grade, and there were only 3 people in my sunday school class. Her family even lived close to us, so we were at their house all the time. I really hadn't heard anything about her family for years. (I ran into her mom once while shopping, but that's about it.) This friend had moved to Zoo York and had spent quite a bit of time there. She moved back recently, Googled churches in the area, and ended up at Blackhawk. How weird is that? An old pastor I knew would call that a "God Sighting" and I don't think I could disagree.

As if that's not enough, my mom wanted to go see "The End of the Spear" this weekend. I knew it was about missionaries in Ecuador, and knew a little something about the story, but nothing significant. After 27 years of life, my mom finally tells me that I was named after one of those missionaries: Nate Saint. Of course, after seeing that flick, I apparently have HUGE shoes to fill. And I'm trying to find a new pair of checkershoes!

THEN... tomorrow night, I show up at church and find out that one of the 2 new members of my small group lives a block away from me. Seriously?! I figured that I was the oddball of this 20-something group and my small group because I was the only person from the Eastside, let alone the Northside.

It's a small world after all... Just never go on that ride at Disneyworld; you'll go crazy halfway through.