5 August 2009 Meeting with Nick Hardy

It was a winter occasion as we drove to the airport. We are to meet up with Nick and Katie Hardy. Old and dear friends who are parents to Church-on-Main and to us. They have seen us sprout, seen us fail, seen us triumph. Their opinion we value highly.

The time is short. The setting inappropriate. The airport terminal is under construction. The noise and the dust make it apostolically unromantic.

He could see in our eyes a deep certainty that comes from calling. A few penetrating questions. As is his want. Probing questions, testing the water. And then a conversational scalpel to cut to the heart of the matter. Why frolic on the surface when the real explanations are sub-epidermal?

His judgment is precise. His discretion instinctive. His engagement is a study of concentration.

It is a gifting to be able to weigh years of historical personal data of us, with knowledge of CoM, with prophetic intuition, all in the one sieve. Some exams in the kingdom you cannot swot for. They demand impromptu answers to searching questions.

He nods at the exhaustion of his inquiries. All the magnetic filings he has scattered on the table all seem to point north. His summation is marked with alacrity. Known for his considered prudence the definitive verdict is comforting.

It seems to be so, he concludes. It would seem to me to be so. A reflective nod. Whatever else was on his mind he did not say. Whatever it was I knew we had made him proud.