Good Over Fast

A couple nights ago, a friend and I met at a local coffee shop to catch up. Our conversation turned to traveling and she began telling me about the time she and her husband spent in Europe. 

She said that they quickly noticed that the Europeans seemed, on the whole, to be more fit that most Americans, even though local businesses would close down in the middle of the day to enjoy a long meal and it wasn’t uncommon for dinner to stretch late into the night. My friends couldn’t understand how these people, who seemed to spend so much of their time eating, managed to stay so lean.

Finally, her husband decided to ask a waitress to explain it to him. Her response was profound.

“You eat food fast,” she said. “We eat good food.”

She’s right, I think.

We often opt for fast over good. We choose convenience over quality. We think more about efficiency than we do enjoyment.

And we are paying a price for those choices. Our health is suffering. Cancer and heart disease are prevalent. More than half of all Americans are on medication – many on more than one.

Certainly, food is not the only factor. That’s not really the point, though.

The point is our tendency for fast over good – a mentality that spills into other parts of our lives.

Particularly, our relationships.

It is often how we approach our friendships, our marriages, our children and even God.

Relationships take work. They take investment. They take time. They are meant to be savored, cherished, enjoyed. When we prioritize convenience over community, we miss out on the goodness of relationships. 

And we pay a price for that choice.

I’m going to choose to prioritize the good - the better. I hope you do too.  Slow down. Savor the people in your life. Take time to enjoy your relationships - including (and especially) with God.

Standing Together

I love historical fiction. I especially love anything by Conn Iggulden. A couple of years ago, a friend introduced me to his series on Genghis Khan. It was spectacular. So, I recently picked up his series on Julius Caesar. It, too, is spectacular.

During one escapade to wreak vengeance on a pirate sea craft early in his career, Julius lies awake, worrying that his legion will not prove up to the task. They are a relatively ragtag band of soldiers, with only a handful of professionally trained men. The rest were nothing more than enthusiastic peasants picked up at local port towns.

As Julius considers the battle to come, he comforts himself with the knowledge that his men will stand firm. They had, after all, developed a strong comradery through their other adventures.

“A man standing next to his friends cannot run for shame,” thinks Julius.

While I certainly don’t condone wreaking vengeance on pirate ships, I think Julius (well, Iggulden) had a point.

Standing next to friends can bring a confidence and courage unmatched by individual resolution. Perhaps that is, at least in part, why the Bible places such an emphasis on community.

God has given me the most remarkable friends over the years. They have stood next to me through difficult seasons, major decisions, and change – lots of change. They have challenged me to stand firm in my faith when it would be easier to desert. They have loved me at my worst and see all that I could be – all that God intends for me to be. They don’t let me run for shame.

I pray you have friends like that. If you don’t, I pray you find them.

I pray you are that friend – for someone.

Loneliness Imagined

In 1978, Jim Davis debuted one of the most beloved cartoons of all time – Garfield. Garfield is the original “Grumpy Cat.” When he’s not eating lasagna, he is sleeping, complaining, or pulling practical jokes on Odie, a fun-loving, but gullible, dog.  Both Garfield and Odie belong to Jon Arbuckle, an awkward bachelor, who spends more time talking to his pets than he does to other humans.

For the most part, the three live together in a mundane, though relatively peaceful, existence. However, in October of 1989, Davis decided to press-pause on the light-hearted themes of Garfield to write a Halloween series that dealt with fear. Davis conducted an informal survey to find out what people are afraid of. The most common response was loneliness.

So, Davis crafted a comic in which Garfield wakes up to find that both Jon and Odie have deserted him. He is cold, hungry and utterly alone. He can’t believe they are gone. He begins to panic and finally, in his desperation, cries out, “I don’t want to be alone!”

The next frame cuts to Jon and Odie, breaking Garfield out of his daze by offering him breakfast. It had all been in his mind. Garfield, overcome with relief, throws himself on Jon and says, “Who needs it? I need you!”

The final frame is haunting. Davis writes, “An imagination is a powerful tool. It can tint memories of the past, shape perceptions of the present, or paint a future so vivid that it can entice… or terrify, all depending upon how we conduct ourselves today…”

Davis was onto something.

I wonder how often we feel – or imagine – we are alone, when, all along, there were people ready and waiting to know and love us. If only we would open our eyes and break from our daze.

I wonder how often we, who have been brought back into a relationship with God by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, forget that we are never alone. He has promised to be with us always – and God keeps His promises.

If you feel alone, know that you are not or, at least, you don't have to be. There is a God ready and waiting to know and love you, if only you would open your eyes and break from your daze.

And remember, an imagination is a powerful tool…

You can read the whole comic here.