echoes of redemption

Having someone close to you who can speak wisdom into your life is indispensable.

They are the one who can help you seen the forest through the trees. Validate you when you have a problem, passion or dream that needs to be encouraged. Keep you on track when you find yourself caught in the threads of anger or un-forgiveness.

A few years ago I was thinking about this kind of relationship in generalities. I really didn’t have anyone in my life who was doing this. Which is dangerous.

At first I was a little upset at God that he would not have put someone in my life to do this – then I realized that I hadn’t been actively pursuing this kind of relationship. So my thought was, what if this person is already in my life and I’m just not leaning in to the friendship?

So I took an inventory of my friends and realized that one guy in my life was consistently able to see the big picture. That he inspired me to do bigger and greater things when we talked. That he would listen to me rant, rave and curse – and without judging me, guide me back toward center.

I just needed to lean in to the friendship.

But it wasn’t long before I realized that just like I needed someone in my life, I also need to be that person for someone else. So I began to look around.

And two other incredible friendships developed.

It’s too easy to float through life and not lean in to the friendships God has placed in our path. And that hurts us all – because we are at our best when we do life together.

Most personal technology is designed to give the end user more control.

Controlling music, email or the temperature one’s butt on the commute to work is awesome. And easy.

Of course end users are people. And people love control. In fact, most people will devote mass amounts of time and energy into control during their lifetime.

But if you stop to think about the high points in your life, you’ll probably realize there were things going on that were far beyond your control.

Which makes you wonder why we strain to control so many things.

There are so many situations where it’s just awkward to know what to say.

Anything involving a hospital as the location.

Any time a marriage is falling apart.

And so we disengage. We don’t pick up the phone. We don’t try. Because we simply don’t know what to say. Or what to do. Or even how to act.

But if we think back to the times of crises in our own lives, it’s not the people who offered advice that meant the most to us. (Most of the time, they said the things that hurt the most.)

It’s the people who just sit in the moment that mean the most. The ones who were there.

There to listen. Laugh. Cry. Curse.

And even though we know that, it’s easy to forget when it’s our turn to impact someone who desperately needs it.

So maybe instead of laying out an agenda, or waiting to muster up the confidence, we should just move forward. Entering in to the moments of crises and hurt that people around us are having.