ABCs of the Tri-Cities: No Reason to Hyde?

Hyde Tap and Lounge Shrimp Po' Boy

Chick Fil A has been open in the Tri-Cities for about a week now. I drove out to the location four days after the opening day with the intent of filling my belly with the classic Chick-Fil-A sandwich and waffle fries. I could already taste the frozen lemonade when I turned into the parking lot only to find lines comparable to Disneyland. Instead of turning to a teenager at the drive thru who would inevitably tell me, "My pleasure," I turned back onto the main street. I wanted Chick Fil A, but I didn't want it enough to sit in traffic.

Four days after that disappointing day, I was chatting with my friend, Sarah, about my experience. It was about 10:30AM, and she said, "Wanna go now?" It didn't take much for me to pick up my bag and say yes. We were in and out of the drive thru in less than an hour. Clutching the white paper bag with the iconic chicken outline, I savored every bite of that meal. It hit the spot.

But what I enjoyed even more than the perfectly fried chicken and crispy waffle fries was the conversation that accompanied it.

In 2022, I started a series titled "ABCs of the Tri-Cities" with the goal of eating at a Tri-Cities restaurant starting with each letter of the alphabet. Three years later, I'm not even halfway through the alphabet, but I don't regret trying this at all...and I'm not giving up! I think that over time, I've enjoyed the challenge of writing and supporting local businesses but more than that, I've enjoyed the conversation - just like the one at the (not local) Chick-Fil-A.

This project has shown me how important it is for me to have time and space to have meaningful conversations with women, and that most often happenes around a table with good food. Throughout Lent, I gathered with a group of women to discuss and pray over Sr. Josephine Garrett's Wilderness Within Lenten devotional, and it was absolutely wonderful. Naturally, we laughed, we cried, but mostly we enjoyed each other's company by which we realized we are never alone.

Hyde Tap and Grill cocktail that I enjoyed but don't remember the name of

Throughout the five weeks of our meetings, I often thought about the women who accompanied Jesus and his apostles, especialy St. Mary Magdalene. I love Mary Magdalene, and ever since this study, I've been sitting with her outside of the tomb. John 20 informs so much of where I've been going to prayer lately. Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb when it's still dark. She sees that the tomb is empty. She goes to find the apostles. They, too, see that the tomb is empty. But that's where the similarities end. They leave. But Mary stays at the tomb.

It's easy to gloss over what happens next because we hear it so often. But Mary receives a gift here, and I

think it's a gift that many women (certainly the women who I shared that study with) receive - the gift of lamenting. Mary weeps at the tomb of Jesus. She mourns the absence of her Lord. And she does it alone. I'm not sure why Peter and John left Mary there. But what's even more powerful to me is that Mary stayed. She wasn't afraid of the cross. In the words of a friend, she "embraces the suck." And this is where she receives another gift: The presence of the Resurrected Jesus, her beloved.

Again it's easy to gloss over the story of Jesus appearing to Mary, calling her by name, and sending her on a mission as the "Apostle to the Apostles." But in my prayer, I consider what it must have been like for Mary to be the one there, the one who Jesus appears to first. How beautiful. There are no mistakes in Jesus, so I ponder the possibility that he could have appeared to all three of His friends. He could have waited until everyone was all together. But he take this moment with Mary Magdalene, the one from whome he cast out 7 demons, the one who supported his ministry from her own means. And I imagine that there were things that were said to her that aren't recorded in Scripture, things that she didn't share with anyone else, things that were meant just for her.

And isn't this how Jesus speaks to all of us? Aren't there things in our prayer that we are meant to share with others and others that are only for our own ears? I'm convinced that the God who knows us, sees us, and loves us, also shares things with us individually, intimately. I think he does this in a special way for women. In fact, each of the women who I shared that lunch at Hyde with had an experience of the divine not unlike that of Mary Magdalene: embracing the cross, being consoled by Jesus, and telling everyone they know about it. I think this entire experience is one that ought to be shared more, one that we don't need to hide but perhaps one to celebrate at places like Hyde.