simply Tuesday

I love the idea and thought of being in community with people around me.  I'll never forget about a decade ago, when we had left our old church to start attending where we are still attending at this present day, my friend Darlene really helped me with the hard transition.  Not just her, but I had several godly ladies who were never too busy to answer my calls or texts, which is why I always try to be available to help people who are new.  Anyway, my friend Darlene told me that she understood how hard it was, they had just made the move a short while before we did, from a huge church in Memphis to this one here in The Ville.  She told me the reason they made the change was because they knew they needed to be within the same community for everything: church, school, work, friendships.  I wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment, and it's why I love where we live and attend.

This is why it's easier for me to get together with some friends over others, who live further away.   I still make the effort, but we're far less likely to bump into each other, or just swing by to drop something off.  It's why I see my mom and Bill more than my dad and stepmom and my in-love's.  Mom and Bill are always driving by our area and are forever stopping to say hello or to bring me something, like when Bill brought me some dressing way back at the beginning of this quarantine.

It doesn't mean I love any of them any more or less than the other; it's just easier with some because of location.  That being said, we still need to make every effort to keep in touch and to see one another.  I was talking to my best friend about all of this just the other day, and we were agreeing on the importance of still meeting with friends during the time we've been quarantined.  Now for us, our town is beginning the process of opening back up starting today.  I'm excited about that, because it's a step forward, but I don't know if it's going to chance what I do all that much.  A lot of places are requiring face masks, and I really want to try to avoid those places.  I'll still be at home more than I'll be out.

I hate that we waited so long into the stay at home orders to start meeting, but as soon as the weather consistently warmed up, we started doing this.  Last Thursday night was our third time to do this, and I'm hoping that they're still wanting to continue this next week.  It's good to remember that we're connected to each other.  These little nights in our church parking light have been life-giving.  We never see other people (except for the time that Tom the sound guy scared the ever living daylights out of us by walking out the doors of the dark building) and we just eat our dinner together, and we laugh and catch up.  I don't really want these nights to stop, once we get back to normal.  It takes effort, and it takes consistency.  Sometimes that's what we need to do to make certain things a priority.

I have a few other friends that I have to be more intentional with either because of life and circumstances or because of where they live.  A couple of them are younger moms, and one of them is my other best friend, Andrea, who lives about 30 minutes away.  Andrea and I are able to meet pretty consistently when a quarantine isn't taking place, and for the past few years have met almost every single month.  See what I mean, though, by effort and consistency? 

These are just a few thoughts I've had recently.  I hope it encourages someone to do what we do and grab some dinner (either made by you or picked up from your favorite place) and pack up a drink and a lawn chair and head to an empty area near you.  Ours just happens to be our church, because we diddn't necessarily want to see other people, like if we had met at a park.  Also, pavement means less bugs.  We've always kept our distance from each other while we did this to be on the safe side, and that was not a problem.  I love my husband and my sons, but sometimes we just need a girlfriend or two.  There is nothing quite like it. 

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.