All I could think about was how tiresome it must be to bounce from house to house while expending energy for 15 hours a day for 2, to 5, to 7, sometimes 10 days in a row. The introvert in me was dying to know how he does it because I couldn’t imagine. So I asked him.
“Why do you prefer to stay with host families when you travel for your speaking engagements rather than staying in a hotel? Don’t you find it exhausting? Don’t you struggle with the lack of privacy?”
His response stopped me dead in my tracks and has altered my perspective for what will most likely be, forever.
“It’s not that I “prefer” this option,” he said. “It’s that I know it’s what Father would have me do. If we’re talking about personal choice and comfort, then yes, I would much prefer to stay in a hotel and I would much prefer my privacy. Travelling is exhausting and I need my moments of introversion, too. But I feel challenged with how Father calls me to live so I choose to not do what’s best for me.”
He went on.
“There are a lot of decisions in my life I could make out of personal preference and comfort, but I find that when I choose Father’s needs above my own, I learn so much more about what He’s doing in the world rather than what’s best for my world.”
That underdressed moment was my favorite moment of the entire weekend.
Even though we had a cozy BBQ gathering to discuss what church is … even though we had a live author event to hear Wayne’s wise perspectives on what faith looks like “Beyond Sundays”… even though we had an insightful podcast recording about community … and even though we had a relaxing time of breakfast on the beach as we discussed parenting and what it means to raise intentional kids in today’s culture … it was that one little nugget of insight that left more of an impression on my heart than all the other hours of amazing conversations combined. Because that’s what God does.
He speaks to us, moves amongst us and flows through us in our moments of togetherness to show us that together is better.
Salt and pepper
Tom and Jerry
Batman and Robin
Wine and cheese
Sonny and Cher
Hamburgers and fries
Pizza and pop
Han Solo and Chewbacca
Peanut butter and jelly
Scooby Doo and Shaggy
Mario and Luigi
Lennon and McCartney
Simon and Garfunkel
Movies and popcorn
Fish and chips
Milk and cookies
Nachos and Salsa
Bacon and eggs
Ben and Jerry
Miss Piggy and Kermit
Romeo and Juliet
Thunder and lightning
Bono and The Edge
We are better together.
“You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts – limbs, organs, cells – but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body.” —1 Corinthians 12:12 (MSG)
Individually, we are one part. Together, we are one body.
So look for, embrace and create more moments of togetherness because that’s where the magic lies.
We are better together.
