Barnes and Noble

Isn't it funny how certain things and places remind you of past events and circumstances. A smell can trigger a fond memory of your childhood, or a sound can jog your mind to a special moment in your life. Just walking into a Barnes and Noble bookstore does that for me, especially an older one that has a similar setup to the one on Tom Hill in Macon, GA. Without fail, the mixture of coffee, books, and baked goods reminds me of the many trips to Barnes and Noble that Cyd and I made in college. The library was such a sterile place that didn't foster learning, at least in our minds. Plus we wanted to enjoy a coffee laced beverage as we gazed across the table at each other. Truth be told, we never really got a lot of studying done because Cyd would look at magazines and I would peruse the sale books and religious section. Perhaps we both would have had a 4.0 GPA if we had studied in the library but those evenings at Barnes and Noble (usually 3 times a week) were pregnant with great conversation. It was in those settings that we talked about our relationship with God and each other, made wedding plans, talked about culture, planned our life together, and just enjoyed the community that we were a part of (Mercer, Macon, Vineville Presbyterian Church, RUF). I guess you could say that Barnes and Noble is a sacred space for me because God taught me a lot about myself and his work in the world over cafe mochas and pleasant conversations that has forever been a part of who I am.