Friends First

Dearest Rachel –

It’s actually kind of funny; as summer comes to a close, the social calendar ramps up with a quickness. Which is sort of ironic, because everything’s pretty slow during the summer – now that we all get back to our commitments, we’re being called to this or that event on top of everything else? Where has all this social whirl been for the past couple of months, when we’ve been bored and isolated from each other?

Of course, that’s rather the point; people take the summer to go on vacations and travel, and no one’s schedule coincides with anyone else’s. You can’t plan an event for everyone to get together when they’re (we’re – it’s not as if Daniel and I stayed home all summer, either, despite technically being abroad during the late spring) scattered to the four winds, after all. You’ve got to wait until everybody’s back in town, and the kids are safely ensconced in school, and only then can you say, “oh, hey, we’ve got this thing going on; would you like to join us?”

The weird thing is that, as I mentioned in my last letter to you, this weekend involved a lesson about counting our days and making them count. Essentially, we need to use our time wisely, because there’s not a moment of it that’s guaranteed to us, even as each one passes with barely a notice that it’s there before it’s gone, and you’re on to the next one. Of course, there’s something to be said for not thinking too hard about that fact; too much concern about making every moment meaningful somehow (and yeah, the “how?” is a serious question) can result in paralysis, like standing in front of an infinite food court and trying to decide what to have for lunch. Everything looks so good, but you only have so much money and time – and, come to that, space in your stomach – you can only pick one entree.

And so it was for me yesterday. Despite the fact that one of the recommendations of the sermon was that we are to take a ‘sabbath’ and rest from time to time, the day that tends to be considered the Sabbath is often the busiest day of my week. Now, part of that is in His service, so I have no concerns about whether I’m using that time properly. In fact, I’ve even able to throw a little bit of dieting as I try (and don’t always succeed) to fast for a twenty-four hour period over my booth weekends, so I get twice the benefit out of that particular time. But once my last shift is over, then it goes a little crazy, both in terms of getting together and in terms of food.

In this one day, I had three different options of who to spend time with. The worship and production team was to be getting together for an end-of-summer party – which, considering that the home involved included a pool, you would have probably insisted we go to if you were still around. At the same time, more or less, there was another party involving this year’s crop of Sparks leaders; a kind of “getting-to-know-you” thing for the new team, along with a reacquainting of those of us making a repeat appearance (which would be most of us).

And then, there was the fact that the gang, which hadn’t been able to get together for just about a month now (since Ellen’s ‘birthday’), seemed to actually be able to agree on a time and place for us all to try this German restaurant (which, while not her idea initially – it was Logan’s suggestion, in fact, because the place had been featured on Kitchen Nightmares, of all things – certainly got Kerstin’s attention) out in the western suburbs. So I was left with having to decide; which of these opportunities was it going to be?

Now the thing was, no matter what I chose, I was going to have to disappoint one group at church or another by not attending. But now that they’d just heard this lesson, it would seem that they would be more understanding than most about it all. And with that being said, it might as well be applied to both such groups, given the conflict. These sorts of get-togethers are meant as a “thank you for signing on,” and I don’t know if I really need that; I’ll be there, reporting for duty as needed, with or without a party to encourage me to do so. Meanwhile, our group hasn’t been able to get together nearly as much as any of us would like to (and if you were still around, you’d be making the biggest fuss out of that fact). In the great calculus of who to hang out with, I concluded (with Daniel’s help, as he’s only part of one of the volunteer groups) that it would be best to put friends first.

The misadventures didn’t end with getting into the car, either. None of us were prepared for the fact that Golf Road was apparently being torn up between the underpasses north of Busse Woods; even a trip to Woodfield Mall would have been prohibitive, let alone a drive all the way out to Hanover Park. And doubling back took time in and of itself, but what was there to be done? We had to turn around, and find another route there. Thank heavens for GPS mapping software.

At any rate, once we arrived at this little place in the middle of an otherwise nearly-deserted strip mall, it proved to be quite homey and welcoming inside. German cuisine might not be a favorite of mine, but I’m willing to try something different now and again. And while it hadn’t been intended as such, at least not originally, this also proved to be a more-than-appropriate way to celebrate (belatedly, as with Ellen) Kerstin’s birthday, especially since she’d apparently been hankering a meal of Kleiner Haxen upon seeing it on their online menu (yes, she looks these things up beforehand, which is probably something Daniel and I should do more often ourselves – but that’s another story)

I’ve said before that for any place one goes, one ought to spend more time at the destination than one does getting there and back, and even with the construction delays and doubling back, we certainly managed to enjoy a couple of hours at the table, tasting a little bit of this, that and the other (although I had to admit to having no interest in Kerstin’s beloved pig’s knuckle; I’m just happy she was enjoying it) and catching up with whatever each of us had been doing over the past month.

It’s entirely possible that everything went well (swimmingly, in fact, for the worship team) for the other events, although the day was cloudy and almost constantly threatening rain, honey, but I think you’d agree that this was the right choice. I just wish we could do it more frequently; this and last time around feel just a little bit like the days when we would gather with the folks and Jenn’s family after Sunday services. These folks are all but family now, and I wouldn’t mind carrying on the tradition, even if the only blood relation is between Daniel and myself. And those ‘family’ relations are the ones we’re asked to pay best attention to, wouldn’t you agree?

Anyway, as always, keep an eye on us all, and wish us well. We’ll certainly need it until next time.