I'm not gonna lie. I've been having a little bit too much fun in the last few days to keep up with the blog. We've been hanging out with friends and shuttling girls to ballet and softball and painting rooms of our house. It has been a busy couple of days, for sure. But this blog has become important to me (and to other people, I am finding), so I thought it would be best to get caught up.
Thursday (day 26) was a day of work and homework (the girls, not me) and ballet and softball. We shuttled the kids around a bunch and then tried to settle them in to the routine that they have at our house. Thursdays are usually tough days for the older girls, as their bodies have a hard time adjusting to life at our house. But we fought through it and had a good night.
Saturday (day 28) was christened by wife wife as a work day around the house. Not my favorite thing to do. But there was a lot of weed eating and painting and hanging and laundry done on that day. Wendy's going to try and implement one of those types of days every month. Lucky for me, April is full of Easter and weddings and general busyness, so it might be May before we see one of those days again!
But Friday (day 27) is what I want to focus on for just a few moments. We have a friend couple that we share an anniversary with (the date, not the year). Four small groups ago we were in a small group with them and made a plan to go out for our anniversaries. Well, life happened, and probably three years later we still hadn't gone out with them. Their kids keep them busy and our lives are usually hectic, so nothing had happened. We finally made that long-standing appointment a reality this week. We went out and hung out at Texas Roadhouse and had an absolute blast!
Before I get into the content of our conversation, let me take a second to brag on myself. At Texas Roadhouse, I ordered my first vegetable plate. Now, if you know me very well, you know what an accomplishment that is for me. Vegetables and I are barely on speaking terms. But the fact that I ordered the vegetable place (at a steak joint) is not what I want to brag about. I ordered a vegetable plate WITHOUT ANY VEGETABLES!!! Yes! My four "veggies" were a baked potato, mashed potatoes, steak fries, and rice! All on the vegetable plate option list; none of them veggies. Yay, me!
Anyway, I was amazed at how quickly we stepped back into life with this couple. We had hardly seen each other in two years, yet we sat at that booth and laughed and talked for hours. We caught up on what was going on with our kids and what was going on with work. We laughed about our mistakes as parents and as human beings and we generally had a grand time.
We talked a lot about church. This couple hasn't really found a church home since leaving their church. They have wanted to allow their kids to find a place they liked and then make that place work for them, but it hasn't happened -- at least not for them. And it reinforced for me just how important community is for all of us, but especially adults. When we were in small groups and would do gender breakouts, this guy would amaze me with his honesty, transparency, and willingness to be the man God wanted him to be. I was constantly challenged by this guy to be a better dad and husband and man. I don't think he intended to challenge me in this way; it just happened. And I wonder how many other guys have been deprived of that blessing because of the life circumstances that forced them out of meaningful community with others. I wish things had gone differently and others could have received that blessing.
But this is where we find ourselves and so I am left with a choice. Will I see this as a great opportunity to catch up with some old friends? Or will I see this as an opportunity to reconnect with people that need my community as much as I need theirs? I hope I choose correctly.
No comments:
Post a Comment