This is the second to last week in a series of posts about offering all of life to God. I’ve been loosely following the chapter outline of my little blue book, writing on similar topics I’ve continued to consider since I submitted the manuscript about a year and a half ago. With the reality that our ability to complete specific disciplines or habits changes with our seasons of life, I look at discipleship to Jesus, the surrender of all of life for all of life, through three dimensions of life: our attention, emotions, and limits. These dimensions can be offered in different ways in every season. If you want to catch up on the series, you can begin here and move forward weekly.
Acquaintances are easy. Friendship is hard.
My friend Jonathan Pennington talks about the friendship ladder and how, over time, people move up and down the ladder due to various circumstances. Acquaintances become friends; friends become acquaintances, people we used to know. Realizing the ladder is real can be humbling because not only do people move up and down yours, but you also move up and down other people’s ladders.
This June, we will have lived in our city for the longest we have lived anywhere in our married life. For those who know me well, it is no secret that I am big on roots. My children are eighth-generation Texans, and my hometown pride flares anytime someone equates Dallas and Fort Worth. But we live in the suburbs, and now we’ve been among a people the longest we’ve been among anyone in 14 years.
It might be the season of life, it might be the roots we’ve put down. We’ve pushed in with a group of friends here and all I can call it is the grace of God.
Living among a people for a long period means that you have the option to live into community. You can be increasingly known for who you really are, or avoid depth by maintaining shallow relationships and skimming along, wired to be known and approved of, seen and cared for, heard and loved—even if you don’t know how to ask for it or admit the need.
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