This afternoon during the SBL conference, I was walking along and saw a scholar I admired (Fischer) ahead of me. I hoped I'd catch up with him to speak to him, but wasn't sure exactly how to do that in a non-pushy way (even though I did truly want to express to him my appreciation for how he expresses himself so intelligently and very humbly at the same time, a combination unfortunately lacking in too many scholars). So when I saw him looking at maps not knowing where he was going, my offer to help became a natural way of starting a conversation.
I did get to express my appreciation of how he does scholarship (I'd like to be more like him when I grow up, to be honest) and he responded with words of faith, clearly linking his love for God with how he studies the biblical text. And then, being the gracious person he is, he asked about my work. And he offered me a slightly older article of his that he was carrying around. The article was on the Psalms - presented at the conference wher I first met Matthijs and whom I married two years ago today. I thanked him and expressed my appreciation for his unexpected anniversary gift.
It is wonderful to be here: I've had lots of chance of thinking about new things and getting new energy to work more on biblical scholarship, for which I'm thankful. But it is strange to celebrate my anniversary so far away from my husband. This serendipitous moment might it slightly less strange and reminded me once again of how much delight I have in being married to Matthijs.
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