"Forgiveness" or "A Hymn, & The Start of Advent: Week 1: Hope"

Good news.

Advent has started. And you are dang right I have been lighting the candles. Advent contains 4 of my favorite life themes: Hope, Peace, Joy & Love.

Sidenote: I am terrible at all those themes.

Anyway, I love Advent. And not just because of this awesomeness. Granted, that movement articulates a lot of how I feel but I have discovered that I rarely have anything to look forward to. I am not big on expectation, but the Advent season is chock full of expectation. It stirs up desires for hope, for peace, for joy (sort of) and for love (I say "sort of" at joy because out of these 4, I am downright horrible at joy. But I desire it, so that helps). Recently, I was reminded of the hymn It Is Well With My Soul, and I have decided it is the perfect Advent song. The dynamic lyrics point to a coming expectation and a longing to be united with our Savior.

The first week/candle of Advent is Hope. I have been praying about Hope a lot lately. I mean, come on, its the first week of Advent. It's important. Like the first person to take penalty kicks. But Hope has been heavy on my mind because lately I have been struggling with Forgiveness.

Was that unnecessarily capitalized? Sure, but it is really hard to hope when you are struggling with forgiveness. I think the real reason I am struggling with it is because I far too often link God's forgiveness with the forgiveness of the people around me. When I don't feel forgiven by people, its hard to believe that God would forgive me as well.

Now, I know that's not true. I can quote verse after verse after verse that speaks of the completeness of God's forgiveness and of his love for me. So during this time of expectation I have been praying about forgiveness, that I would find my hope in a God that forgives completely and wholly.

What about you? What are your thoughts on forgiveness? How do you experience forgiveness? Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone who has hurt you that you need to talk to? Do you "just" need to find rest in the fact that we serve a holy God who loves fully and forgives conclusively?

My prayer for this advent season is that as the expectation of the coming of Jesus Christ builds and guides our experiences, may we be filled with the hope that comes from relationship, from relentless grace, and from the indelible love of a Savior that knows us and who entered our story. And may these lyrics resound with our souls as we go forth:

"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought

My sin, not in part, but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Oh my soul!"

"Basketball" or "Forgetting vs Remembering, Sweat and Grace"

So one of the dilemmas of having a spouse who works full time and is in grad school is that she needs the computer all the time. She is either taking it to school for presentations or writing papers, or editing papers, or researching papers, or changing her facebook picture. But sorry I have been away.

Things I have been thinking about: Is there something that you love to do? Something that you love? An action, a moment, a space?

Something that causes you joy, peace, makes you just feel alive? I am not talking about anything particular deep or anything. For my wife, its cooking. She really enjoys it. And not just in a “we need to eat so we can survive” type of thing, but in a “I love cooking and having people over” type of thing. We don’t get to do it very often, just part of life right now, but when it does happen, you can see the joy in her attitude.

I think my cooking is basketball. Only the weird thing is I never play.

Correction. I never played. I am trying to change that.

I use to play basketball all the time. Literally. In high school I played every day. In college, every time we could get in the gym. Even post-college I played in a couple leagues. The problem is that people take basketball too seriously. I mean, by the way some people react, you would think that the whole world is watching with bated breath for the outcome. And it got old. I didn’t want to argue with someone about fouls or listen to someone run their mouth or wear a sleeve when they are playing pick up basketball.

But when we moved to St. Louis, I stopped playing. Completely. Just stopped. I messed around shooting here in there but never played. I was done with such “childish” things. I just forgot what I loved about it.

Recently, a friend of mine asked if I would play on his basketball team. I agreed, mostly because I don’t like telling people no, and because I had nothing else going on.

Not to sound melodramatic, but it has been a joy-filled experience with me. The first game, my friend said I was running up and down with a silly grin on my face. And I believe him. It’s fun. I remembered that I love the game, that I love the teammates, the strategy, even the trash talk. There is something refreshing, recharging about running up and down the court, about sweating out the week and all its drama. Something grace-filled about finding joy in play.

Here is where I missed the point. I thought I was “over” basketball. I thought I was over those kind of endorphins. I missed the point of basketball, of finding joy in little things.

Is there something like that for you? Something that has gotten pushed to the side? Not for any particular reason but just because of life? Maybe it’s playing an instrument, or a friend that you haven’t talked to in awhile or a book that made you love reading that you haven’t read in awhile. I don’t know. But I know for me, it has been basketball.

Hopefully during this time of year we can all find those little things that bring us joy and take advantage of them. And may we all experience the true of joy of this advent season: the coming of our once and future King.

"Humility" or "A Question I Asked Someone Else and They Asked Me To Answer It First"

I have had a few blog posts in my back pocket for a week or two. Literally. I literally wrote thoughts down and put them in my back pocket in case I was going to stumble across any free internet connection and could post them. Having said that, I am forgoing the topics I had marked down and stuffed in my khakis. All because of Pete Wilson.

If you don’t know Pete, you should. He is a pastor at a church in Nashville called Crosspoint. They were just voted the best church for Hipsters. I laughed for like 10 seconds when I read that.

If you think about it, 10 seconds is a long time. Why I laughed:

1) Someone actually took the time to figure that out.

2) By calling it cool for hipsters, it effectively makes it uncool to hipsters.

3) It was just really funny to me, so lay off me.

Anyway, I like Pete’s blog a lot. He has actual readers and whatnot who interact and stuff (Did you catch that? That was my manipulative way of telling you to comment. Elizabeth is carrying the team here).

I don’t know how Pete comes up with his blog posts. Probably doesn’t carry them around in his pocket. So I asked him. Actually, I tried to trick ask him to answer a question I ask all the time. He asked my thoughts. Frick.

So here they are. First, the question: I said, “I would love to know your thoughts on the balance of ambition, humility, and God’s plan…”

Yeah.

So why I think about it: I struggle with my humanity a lot. My sin, my shortcomings, and the overwhelming Grace that is provided to me. I think my own ambition is the cause of a lot of this. I find that my humanity is interacting in everything I do, and while that it is not necessarily a bad thing, I wonder what God thinks about it. Not the sin part, He is pretty clear about that, but more so about my ambitions and dreams.

Dreams. Ambitions. Goals. They don’t seem bad. They don’t take me away from God or go against scriptures. But I am not sure if they are from God. I am pretty sure they are my dreams and goals.

One of the reasons I wanted Pete’s opinion is he is currently editing his book that will come out shortly. I would love to write a book one day. Probably cause I have romanticized the book writing process. I also like writing. I write more than this blog suggests. I write my prayers. And some poems (I am going to be the Emily Dickenson of our day. I am not going to publish any of my poems but someone will find them under my old bed and think they are way better and deeper than they actually are).

That is not a real goal or dream, just more of a commentary on Emily Dickenson’s poems.

Sorry for the tangent.

What’s the point of me wanting to write a book? Because our culture and world needs to hear my voice? Hardly. But mostly because I feel like I have lost my voice. I know that isn’t true, but its how I feel. And I want my voice to contribute to the greater narrative that is all around me.

But it brings up other dreams and goals. I want to be a pastor again. Is that my dream or is God now calling me to something different? And if I am a pastor and God blessed us missionally and we started to make some noise in our community, is that a bad thing for me to dream of?

I guess it feels like when I acknowledge them or say they are in God’s hands it feels like false humility. I hate that. I am/was the king of that. I am trying to stop.

I guess I sum it up with what Paul writes in Phil. 2:3-11

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead he gave up his divine privileges and he took the humble position of a slave and was born a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

I think this is the most important passage for me and my motivations. Maybe yours too. Anyway, it’s a great passage to have in our hearts and minds as we move forward with our dreams, aspirations and various other hijinks we have hope for. So who are you trying to impress? What motivates you? In what areas are you selfish?

May we be reminded of our humanity in light of the grace, love and humility of Jesus Christ. May we serve our community and the people we get to interact with because that is exactly what Jesus would do, not because of a job description or any self-serving motivation. And may we be less guided by our own thoughts and motivations and more by the things that brings joy to the heart of our Creator.

"Sancturary" or "Michael Vick, Moving, & An Old Snickers Commercial Teach me About Space"

Last week I was watching Sportscenter, which in all honesty, I do more than study God's Word.

[This fact hit me the other day because we have moved and no longer have cable (or internet or TV for that matter), and I cared a lot more about who won what game, the status of my fantasy team, and if Jose Altidore was still continuing his tear through the English Premier League, rather than if I had spent quality time in God's word for that day.]

This made me borderline depressed with myself, which I really don't need the help with right now.

However, on that particular edition of Sportscenter, (which if you missed it, ESPN aired it again at 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, and 2) they were interviewing Michael Vick about his return to the football field, and he described the feeling of stepping between the painted white lines as his sanctuary.

I thought about that word for a long time.

Sanctuary.

Holy.

Set apart.

For Michael Vick, a guy who I completely understand needs to escape from the world around him, the field provided this outlet. It got me thinking, where do I find my sanctuary? In all honesty, it has never been in a church. Sure, there are formal, or "professional" sanctuaries there, and sacred and holy moments occur in those places for sure, but that is where we gather corporately, it's not my personal holy place. It's not a place that I have set apart. It's been set apart for me.

I think for awhile I have been relying on other people to provide holy moments for me. I long for the holy and sacred to invade my everyday, but I don't intentionally set apart an actual space for it.

I don't have a sanctuary.

There are no painted lines that I can walk between and just breathe. Just be me. Be present. For me, it cant be our couch, or our bedroom, or the coffee shop, because while I can and have experienced the holy in those places, there is nothing set apart.

So what about you? Do you have a sanctuary? Do you feel like you need one? Do you feel the need for an actual, physical "space"?

May we all find our sanctuary, even if it is constantly changing. And may we find rest in a God who longs to invade our everyday...

"Funk" or "I Am Not Writing About the Goodness That Is The Musical Stylings of George Clinton"

I once heard this quote: “I like all of my music on my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.”

This quote describes me. I am a notorious iTunes shuffler. However, as I was reading the other day, with the music washing over me, shuffle provided me with George Clinton and the P Funk All Stars. I haven’t listened to them in awhile, and to be honest, its not quality reading music. But it is infectious.

Anyway…that was a long introduction that has nothing to do with what I am thinking about, but I hadn’t listened to the funkmaster in awhile.

The truth is that I am in a funk. And a big part of me wants to sit down and write a lot about my “emotions” and my “feelings” and whatnot. I really find writing cathartic. I am not good at verbally processing, but I could sit here and type forever.

However, a friend recently shared this quote with me. Well, not really with me. She shared it with everyone who follows her on twitter, but I like to feel more important and think that people are tweeting just for me. Anyway, shallow narcissism aside, here is the quote:

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

- Henry David Thoreau

I think one reason I am remaining in a funk is because I am writing a lot (not on here obviously). But it raises the question, how are you living? How are you finding your passion? How are you exploring contentment? How do you define standing to live? What do you live for?

These are just some of the questions I am asking myself, along with I wonder how long it would take me to get some seriously awesome multi-colored dreads?

"Glory" or "How I Make the Mistake of Glorifying the Wrong Things, and In Doing So, Miss the Point."

I have recently become addicted to the show called Gangland on the History Channel. It's really good. It's really informative. It's depressing. It's interesting. It's dark. It's...

...it's missing the point.

Gang culture is interesting to me, how these tribes of people who are beyond my perspective move & operate. In fact, one of my favorite books from the past five years is this one. It an honest and open look from an outsiders perspective.

I think the point of the show Gangland (or the other really good show Marked) is to teach and tell the stories. I think it misses the point because it kind of glamorizes gangs. I think it is really unintentional, but it is still happening.

It has caused me to think a lot about glory.

Glory is a hard concept, because it tends to become self motivated. We do things that will earn us glory in some form of the other.

I think the other reason I have been thinking about glory is because of this song (but not the video), which is a cover of this song.

Whenever I hear the word 'glory' it immediately brings to mind this lyric:

"Unaware of Afflictions eclipsed by glory"

This line is speaking volumes to my soul right now. I think its so easy to get caught up in our afflictions. In our guilt. In our shortcomings. And the glory of grace is misplaced, it is not where we intended it to be, kinda like Gangland.

But the truth is I am more unaware of the fact that Glory has fully eclipsed all my afflictions, my guilt, my shortcomings.

I constantly need to be reminded of the fact that my afflictions have been eclipsed.

May we all recall the hope of glory, and may we live out of a place where we can no longer see our afflictions because the have been obscured by the grace, love and peace of Jesus Christ.

“Arrogance” or “How James Bond Teaches Me Way More Than Just How To Be A Suave, Sophisticated, Poker Playing Uber-Spy.”

A couple months ago the TV network USA started playing Casino Royale, the all too awesome James Bond movie.

In case you weren’t sure, USA is the same network that has given us one of the top 5 television shows of all time: Psych. (The remaining top 4: Scrubs, 30 Rock, Arrested Development and Step by Step).

Yes, Step by Step was a joke. Kind of.

Anyway, I loved the movie Casino Royale. It’s the Batman Begins of the James Bond series, completely redoing and improving the sinking franchise. This chase scene alone is worth watching the movie.

So it’s on TV awhile ago, and I am watching it and M drops this knowledge on our reluctant super spy:

“Arrogance and self-awareness rarely go hand in hand.”

This is a great quote and one that can give us lots to think about.

I really strive to be self-aware. Not just because I like Karen Horney’s theories, or agree with everything Marcus Buckingham says (speaking of suave British men, that guy is legit). But because if you know your strengths and weaknesses, and are able to navigate your emotions, it’s possible to experience a much more holistic view of who we are and our identity in Christ.

It’s a fine line to walk – the balance being self aware and arrogant. One that we should be constantly struggling with and reexamining. Arrogance causes us to value ourselves over others, and instead of being self-aware we can become self-important.

It reminded me of this famous quote from the always wise Oswald Chambers:

“The people who influence us the most are not those who detain us with their continual talk, but those who live their lives like the stars in the sky and “the lilies of the field” – simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold and shape us.

If you want to be of use to God, maintain the proper relationship with Jesus Christ by staying focused on him, and he will make use of you every minute you live – yet you will be unaware, on the conscious levels of your life, that you are being used of him. “

May we be self-aware, not so we can become self-important, but so that we can guard our motivations. And may we maintain our proper relationship with Jesus Christ so that we may be constantly used by Him, even if it means we are unaware.

My Experience with Hippies Part III: Recycling or How Activism doesn’t actually mean Action

We spent a weekend with friends at what the MO residents call The Lake, and it was a ton of fun. During our weekend, Allison and I kept a separate bag for recycling, even though the place we were staying didn’t have that as an option. At the close of the weekend our trash bag was much smaller than our recycling bag, but we had no place to take it, so I decided that we could just pack in the car and we would bring it back home where we could recycle it. This took my friends kind of by surprise, “You would rather pack this stuff and drive it 4 hours home than just throw it away?”

Yes. Yes I would. And not because I am holy, or amazing or anything like that. Not in the least. But it did give me a chance to tell this story, to share why it was so important to me. The story which I will share with you now…

I really like recycling. A friend of mine has this shirt and I think its funny/awesome.

More than recycling, I am fully on board with the green movement. Not because it’s trendy or because I have always had this deep burden for nature, or because I think Prius' are cool, but because I think it resonates with who God created us to be as stewards. I also read this book, which, if you haven’t, is a must read. It’s practical and has a great perspective. My wife and I are pretty dedicated to trying to do whatever it takes to be better stewards, whether its not using our clothes dryer or to merely be more intentional about recycling everything that can possibly be recycled.

I have also always been a big fan of the tag line: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. However, I usually get stuck on “Reduce.” If there is one of these I wish I could master it would be reduce. I lack a lot of simplicity in my life. I long for it, but sometimes it just seems so hard.

Anyway, back to the story.

So Allison and I are at this hotel, and there are hippies everywhere. It was like a nursery rhyme.

I was really excited to walk around this conference/convention/concert/festival/thing when I found out the title was “Art & Activism.” Maybe because I believe in the arts as a means of inspiring others to get off their butt, or maybe its because it can bring people together and break down barriers. Or maybe because I like to people watch and the chance for some free swag. But as it turns out, I was in for a big surprise.

Allison and I did not pay to get in. Fortunately, festivals for hippies are run by hippies, and so we just walked in. This was a big deal to my wife, as she is not much of a rule breaker. Once inside, it was… well, um…

Depressing.

Every 10 yards or so there were giant really nicely made posters talking about everyday things you can do to be “green.” In between those signs were heaps of trash. Finally we can across some trashcans. Sadly, they were overflowing with everything: bottles, cans, fragments of watermelon, food, etc.

Nowhere in sight was a recycling bin. We looked. Everywhere. We even asked someone. We watched people just throw stuff on the ground. We watched as people cared a lot less about trash and recycling as they were about getting into the tent with rave music and laser lights (in their defense, it was a cool tent).

The only conclusion we could come to was that it was really depressing. We just walked around wide-eyed and mumbling to each other, “this is so sad.”

I know that may sound really judgmental, and I have apologized to Jesus for that. But there is something so sad about missing the point. And I don’t think it was intentional.

I have been to a lot of festivals. Trash is everywhere. Whether it’s a Christian festival or a unChristian festival – trash is inevitable. But the amount of trash was overwhelming. It would be really hard to advocate for people to recycle at a festival. But at a festival about recycling? It just made us sad.

It’s like there was tangible longing in the air to be counter-cultural, to be part of something bigger than themselves. Instead of standing out and being a festival that offered recycling and trash alternatives, all while explaining the virtues of doing so, the easiest way to be different was to dance in a fountain and make out with strangers.

I think the reason that this was so sad to Allison and I was because there are times when we are the same way. We take the easy way. I mean, come on, it’s easier, thus the name. Just because we call ourselves activists, doesn't really mean we are taking action.

Donald Miller said it best the other day when he said this, “I am starting to think “raising awareness” is a fashionable way to “not do work” when it comes to justice issues.”

Making other people care is pretty easy. It’s easy to throw out statistics and pictures and tell stories about issues and pull on emotional heartstrings. The real work comes in making an actual difference. Telling people emotional stories doesn’t create change if it ends there.

I think the reason this made us so sad is because we were seeing a lot of ourselves and a lot of the Church in the people at the festival. The Church is great at raising awareness, but we struggle in bringing about real change. A lot of times its easier to throw money at a cause then to actually go feed someone that is hungry.

Allison and I walked away with a renewed commitment to be more intentional about these areas. Are we going to be proponents for social justice or are we going to actually go out and do something? Do we get it right every day? Not even close. But we are trying, even if it means driving 4 hours with a trunk full of trash.

May we all struggle to bring about real change. May we walk humbly knowing how inconsistent we are and strive to do better next time. May we make a difference in a world that desperately needs it, and may we endure the cost of figuring out what it means to be good stewards of the world God gave us.

My Experience with Hippies Part II: ‘Watermelon’ or ‘How Fruit Taught Me About Generosity’

If you want the background to this story, please read this.

 

On of the reasons we chose the hotel we did, was because they had a rooftop pool, not unlike this one. Pretty sweet, huh? Except by “rooftop” they meant the top of the third floor. In case you were curious, the 3^rd floor was not the top.  Anyway, Allison and I wanted to spend a relaxing afternoon at the pool. Apparently, so did everyone else.

 

So we are hanging out at the pool, mostly people watching, because, well, they were really interesting. To our right was a woman thanking her 17 year old daughter for not getting to drunk during the festival, while her uncle brought her another drink. To our left was a group of people with some really unfortunate tattoos, some of which looked like they may have been done that weekend, possibly right there by the side of the pool. 

 

Allison was napping in the sun, while I attempted to read in between my watching of the pool party all around us. All of a sudden, this guy walks out onto the pool deck and declares, “I brought you all watermelon.”

 

And he had. He had a giant watermelon in his hands, found a table, and quickly cut it up. He then proceeded to serve anyone who wanted one a piece of watermelon. As he did this, he would introduce himself to people, hear a little bit of their story and then move on to the next person who wanted some fruit.

 

It was actually one of the cooler things I have seen in awhile.

 

Why? Because I would never do that. Not because I am jerk or don’t want anyone to have any, but its just not something I would ever do.

 

I am not a generous person. And its not something I like about myself. Luckily, my wife is way better at being generous and I am learning from her. But I want to get to the point where I am at a semi-roof top pool and think, “I bet everyone would like some refreshing watermelon.”

 

I think I miss out on being generous due to my overwhelming selfishness. That sounded a lot deeper in my head. I think about making sure other people have the opportunity to be generous to me, but rarely am I fully prepared to be generous to others.

 

I have been thinking about the early church a lot. The end of Acts 2 says that the disciples “shared with great joy and generosity.” I think this is one of the reasons I have a deep longing for community, even in the midst of quality relationships. I am not very generous. It would be easy to blame my parents because I am an only child, but come on, that ship sailed a long time ago.

 

Watching some random guy share watermelon is an image I hope to keep with me for a long time. May we all learn what it is to be generous and experience the joy that comes along with that… 

Missing the Point: My Experience with Hippies Part I: ‘Elevator Rides’ or ‘How to Completely Kill A Congenial Conversation As Fast As Possible'

Allison and I recently celebrated our 5th anniversary, and we decided to stay at a nice hotel right on the river in downtown Louisville during our recent visit to Kentucky.

 

Sadly, we were not the only people who thought this would be a great place to spend a day or two.  We were sharing the hotel with two groups: The Presbyterian Women & Forecastle – 'A Festival for Music, Art & Activism'. Or as I have come to call it: Forecastle – 'An Excuse to Demolish a Hotel and Smoke Weed.' Or: Forecastle – 'How Random Interactions Can Make You Desire More From the Church.'

 

First of all, when I say ‘hippies’ – I am talking about real, bonafide hippies - not people who call themselves hippies because they hate showering and have seen one Grateful Dead show – I am not talking about them. Real hippies are probably the nicest, most inclusive people I have ever met. I mean, I consider myself nice, but very rarely do I initiate conversations with people at random. The hippies at this hotel saw everyone who was in the same building as them as a chance for a conversation, and because of this, it lead to this exchange…

 

We finish checking in and pull all our stuff into the nice glass elevator, not unlike this one. We are followed into the elevator by two Presbyterian Women (who were easy to distinguish because they all wore their name tags, and well, were old women. The two women took their place at the back of the elevator and assumed elevator etiquette. You know… where conversations are put on hold and everyone faces forward. Allison and I were spending the time by leaning against the side-wall, staring at the illuminated floor buttons. As the doors were about to close, a young guy, maybe 22 at the oldest, slides in and smiles. He makes eye contact with all of us and is just kind of grinning, in his oversized sweatshirt and lack of shoes.

 

He presses his button and then says, “What have you all been up to?”

 

And then it happened.

 

The moment the point was missed.

 

As I open my mouth to respond, very quickly one of the older ladies answers, fairly harshly, “We (gesturing to her friend) were just at church. Where have you been?”

 

The young guy responds, “My grandmother goes to church – I think she is a Lutheran.”

 

The other lady responds, “You should go with her sometime. (dramatic pause) Soon.”

 

I think my mouth stayed open and I kind of stared at the two women. It all happened so quickly. The elevator chimed, the doors opened and we all disembarked. Allison and I walked the hall sort of stunned, and vaguely depressed at what had just happened.

 

Here is the thing - there are very few opportunities to talk with people who are willing to ask questions. Tons of people are willing to talk, not a lot are willing to ask questions, especially to people who are the exact opposite of them. Any number of responses could have been offered, but instead, the only one that was offered was one intended to judge, belittle and accuse.

 

I think the point is that there was an opportunity to express grace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and joy. I am not asking people to have a mind-blowing conversation in an elevator. And I don’t think that the point was that this guy was saying, “tell me everything about Jesus,” or anything like that. I think the point is that we often overlook seemingly insignificant interactions because they aren’t in settings where our radar is up. I am pretty sure that if this guy had walked into the Pres. Women conference, that they would have been more than willing to talk to him, but because it was in an elevator, and because elevators already raise people’s awkward levels, instead of being able to create dialogue, the door was slammed shut (or in the case of the elevator, slide shut agonizingly slow).

 

I guess the takeaway for me is to desire to be more vigilant – to be much more aware of the people around me and the longing for conversation, for connection.

 

May we be aware of the stories all around us. And may we be willing to engage those around us with grace and love, no matter how seemingly insignificant the conversation may seem to us.