Crosswords

Lately I've been a little obsessed with a new app on my phone...the New York Times Daily Crossword. I enjoy crossword puzzles, but I am not really fond of doing them alone. I am not clever, patient, and smart enough. Plus, I usually don't have a pencil handy.

But this app, oh my. You say "check this word" and it handily puts a big ol' X through whatever letters don't belong. So...yeah...I'm sort of a completionist, and this gives me an instant 'yay or nay', and...oh my. This is way more fun and mentally stimulating than, say, Farmville. Or so I imagine, as I don't actually play that game.

I consider myself a crossword padawan; I know some of the tricks and understand some of the language, but I am still learning and bumbling my way through. When I see a clue in the past tense, I remember my friend Steve explaining how that means the word is, too. See, I learned both an appreciation for crosswords and the interesting language of crosswords from him.

I first met Steve at church; and for a long time he was just my friend's dad. Steve and his wife ran a non-profit bookstore/coffee shop for a time, whose profits went into a local parachurch ministry that supported local churches and various outreaches, including homeless ministry. Steve really had a heart for the lost and forgotten in the city, and was quite the perfect one to run the shop. His primary directive was to love whoever came in.

Looking for a worthy 'hobby', I decided to see about volunteering at the coffee shop. I vaguely knew what it was about, and it seemed awesome, and fortunately Steve looked past all of my faults and lack of barista experience and let me in to his world. So, every Friday morning, I would arrive at opening and help him prepare fresh cookies and serve coffee to whomever happened to wander in. I was particularly blessed to see him interacting with the homeless who came in to get warm; he treated them like VIP's. One time I got to overhear a conversation in which someone accepted Jesus.

We weren't particularly busy on Friday mornings, but I tried to be as helpful as possible (and I do hope I was, despite my utter clumsy slowness making coffee and my frequent oopsies at the register), washing tables and such. In between the scattering of people in the morning and at the lunch hour, Steve and I would enjoy a cup of coffee and he'd graciously listen to my yap about my family and kids, God and politics. I eagerly listened to him on the same subjects, lapping up wisdom and enjoying his heart and his love for his wife and family.

He was at one time a pastor, and it was clear he still had that pastor's heart and mantle. God's peace and love just oozed out his pores. And in between customers and yapping, we'd do whatever crossword puzzles he hadn't yet done in the papers. Mostly he did them and I tried not to appear too stupid while I labored over an answer that was probably ridiculously obvious to him. When we were super stumped I'd look it up on my laptop. He sometimes even saved the puzzles so we could work on them. It was something I looked forward to all week.

Unfortunately, the Lord chose to take him home far too soon for everyone else's comfort. It was a sudden and unexpected accident event, and I still get teary thinking about that. I still miss our Friday morning crosswords.

So, when I labor over a clue for fifteen minutes, I think about how it would have taken him two, and chuckle a little. When I see a clue written in a tricksy crosswordsy way, I remember what Steve taught me about it. I am thankful for the gracious influence he and his wife were on my life, and blessed that he gave me a silly little gift that I enjoy today, though he is gone. And then I gleefully, frustratedly squint at 15 across and will my brain to think better. This one's for you, Steve.