Who was Blind Bartimaeus?

WHERE I AM: In Wyoming at one of my favorite coffee shops.
WHAT I DID TODAY: Worked as a journalist. Went grocery shopping. Ate cereal by the river.
WHAT I'M DRINKING: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee, with cream. It's great. Has a hint of blueberry flavor.
WHO I MET TODAY: My friend John came over for lunch. We had Chinese.
WHERE I'M GOING TOMORROW: To my cubicle to work.

Blind Bartimaeus was, obviously, a blind guy. He lived in Bible times. He is mentioned in three of the Gospels -- Matthew, Mark and Luke.

My favorite version is in Mark. Chapter 10. Verses 46-52.

You should check out the story for yourself. But, it goes something like this:

* Jesus is leaving Jericho, on foot as usual.
* He has a large crowd of people following him. As usual.
* A blind beggar named Bartimaeus is sitting by the road. When he hears that Jesus is passing by, he starts to shout.
* "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" he says.
* The crowd tells him to be quiet.
* He shouts even louder: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
* Jesus hears him and tells him to come.
* The crowd tells Bartimaeus to cheer up, Jesus is calling him.
* Bartimaeus throws aside his coat, jumps up and goes to Jesus.
* "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asks.
* "I want to see!" Bartimaeus answers.
* Jesus heals him because of his faith.
* Bartimaeus follows Jesus down the road.

That's it.
No, that's it! Bartimaeus was listening for Jesus. He desperately wanted his attention. He was persistant in getting it. Once he had it, he knew exactly what he wanted. He was intentional. He wanted to see. And, once healed, he followed.

I want to be like that. I want to see, too. I want to have that kind of faith. And I want to follow because I have a feeling that following Jesus is quite the adventure. What stories!

That is what this blog is all about. It is about what I see, whom I meet, what their stories are, where they're going, what got them here.

I am taking a trip soon. Denver to Boston to New York to Philadelphia to West Virginia to Chicago to Kalispell to Seattle to Portland to Sacramento to home. Which is Wyoming. I think I'll see a lot.

Come along with me! Meet the people I meet. See the things I see. Pray for me, with me, for others. Let's get a dialogue going about life and all its complexities.

And, when I'm back home, let's keep it going. I'll keep writing. Bartimaeus will keep shouting. There's always a story to be told.