Day 80. I have chosen to live intentionally toward the goals, dreams and desires God has placed on my heart for the last 90 days of 2019, pressing past fear, excuses and discomfort toward fullness of life. Goal: cultivating community
I crawled into bed, body aching, mind swirling, no words left, melting into a peaceful smile. This is good tired. Twenty hours of ten-year-old boy sleepover. Pizza. Twizzlers. Fortnite. Star Wars Battlefront. Caffeine. Light Saber battles. Staying up all night. 5 hours of thirteen-year-old girl’s birthday party. Ran for gifts. Detour. Family. Friends. Latinx culture: the party ends when the last guest leaves. I hope my daughter takes this all in. These are the parties I never want to leave. Now, she is the one invited to partake of friendship, family, community, and food, navigating the beautiful bilingual, cross-cultural landscape. Surely this is how Jesus ate and partied, with papi, mami, abuelita, tia, and tio, and all who came, wrapping each guest in warm embrace and unhindered welcome. Once friend now family welcome. Welcome.
At 7:00pm I laid flat on my back, staring at the ceiling:
Did I eat today? It was good to make homemade granola and scrambled eggs for Isaiah and Salvador. Not bad for 20 minute Granola!
Did I take care of everything? Body aching. Mind swirling. No words left. Peaceful smile. Yes, yes I did.
What do I have to do tomorrow? Delight. Share stories. Lean into the good tired that comes from being wrapped in the love of friends who know you, see you, share their culture with you and welcome you. Once friend now family welcome. Welcome.
I breathed deeply. I had nothing left to give. We are thriving, leaning into the good tired of friends who reorient our perspective because they remember our true name. Friends who call forth our destiny from our souls, letting us borrow their courage when we’re afraid. Friends for whom we’ll do the same. Once friend now family welcome. Welcome all of me, welcome all of us, unapologetically welcomed. Welcome.
ACTION STEPS: Community grounds us, enlivens us, and reorients us toward truth. There are times when we long for community, and we will tell ourselves, “I have no friends.” Often times, those friends are just a phone call or a text away. Who might you reach out to this week? Maybe a simple text or phone call will be an encouragement to them and you. Maybe a simple text or phone call can lead to a much needed meal, coffee or hug. Text or call one friend this week. Take note of what God does through that one small step of investing in your friendships.
Photo by Kristina Bratko