Sip

Grande no water tazo Chai . . . that was my drink of choice this morning at a local coffee shop, in fact that is my drink of choice just about every Wednesday morning. I am not sure why, as there are a lot of other drinks I enjoy on the menu (and I am a person who enjoys mixing it up). Maybe it is just too early in the morning to have to think about a decision of what to drink, or maybe there is something comforting about routine and consistency, or maybe I just don’t want to disappoint anyone who expects me to order my regular. Who knows, but I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed ordering as those who helped me were friendly.

“So I watched a movie last night,” I opened the conversation with a rhetorical statement hoping my friends would bite. They did, and I proceed to tell them about the movie “Smoke,” it is a movie about people who sit around smoking cigars and telling stories. It was an interesting movie, but what really intrigued me about the movie was the characters. Each one of them was lonely, none of them had a family, and in their coming together to smoke they found relationships and healing, and had a good time doing it.

It made me think I would love to create a movie called “Sip.” As I prefer coffee over stogies, and there is something to be said for coming together with people, talking about life, telling stories, and trying to find meaning, and a better way of life together.

I guess the more years I tuck into my belt, the more I am convinced that God created us to belong to each other. We are born into families, we belong to each other. In families when we are loved, listened to, touched with care, and seen as precious we know we belong. When we know we belong, we can open up without fear. And it is in our relationship with each other that we become the person, the people that God intended.

America can be so individualistic sometimes that we can forget our need for relationship. We think we are fine, we can shoulder life ourselves, and we don’t want to burden anyone anyway. And maybe we are fine, and maybe we will survive, but maybe apart from relationships and belonging to each other, our hearts will never run deep, and lives will never mature, or gain significance.

So this morning as I sipped, something amazing happened. I am not sure where it came from, maybe from time spent (as I have meet with these guys from our church for a while), maybe from God, maybe because I am changing, but I felt like I was really able to talk to my friends about the tensions in my heart. As I talked I felt as though a little weight lifted from my shoulders, while at the same time the river of my life was running a little deeper. This is what God has to offer through relationship with His people.

I know some of you might be like my friend Nick Gill and not like coffee, but the “sip” of coffee really isn’t the point, but God working in your life (in my life) as we enter into relationships with each other is the point.

I know deep in all of our hearts we desire these type of relationships, I believe God put that desire there. If you desire to find that, but don’t know how, I care, and I want to help. We have multiple ways to help you Link-up in the church, avenues where you can find friendships, but feel free to make your own avenues as well. May we not miss out on God’s plan to grow our life, by missing out on the person sitting next to us in church.

Drink up,

Pastor Jon