Monthly Archives: October 2012

Community, Friendship, Grief

Sometimes You CAN Go Home Again

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Maybe it all depends on how you define home.

The high school I graduated from in North Miami, Florida, has been torn down and the areas around the original site are now a blight.  The old neighborhoods are unrecognizable and some are even dangerous. Very little is the way it was when we were young.

Still, this past weekend 50 of my high school friends gathered on a Florida beach to celebrate a shared milestone birthday. Former classmates traveled from Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Illinois . . . and of course, every corner of Florida, to be together. It was important. Continue reading Sometimes You CAN Go Home Again →

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Christian Life, Community, Faith, Friendship, Prayer

The High Cost of Drama, Assumptions, and False Agreements

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I could feel myself sliding into a funk.

Traveling with a group of my closest friends over the last several years had always been restorative. Relaxing. Outrageously fun. But now it had taken on additional layers. Somehow drama and dysfunction had been introduced into the mix this time around, a complication that had never been a part of any previous experience.

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Looked at through a particular lens, you could say it made us more like a family. After all, families are imperfect, right?  And it doesn’t mean we don’t love each other. (I rather prefer that view.)

It started with a minor misunderstanding that morphed into hurt feelings and doubts about motives. Tears. Words. Then hugs. Forgiveness.

And for me, a lingering darkness. Here’s why. Continue reading The High Cost of Drama, Assumptions, and False Agreements →

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Christian Life, Community, Friendship, Grief

Do I Detect A Little Slippage Here?

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Maybe it’s just me, but it seems our “good intentions” department is a little low on inventory these days.

Looking around, civility appears a little thin. Chivalry – despite those who like to say it isn’t dead – is fighting for a good, deep breath. And sympathy? Sympathy is struggling to stay afloat.

I’m just not sure we’re as nice as we could be any more. Has it become acceptable to get by with the minimum, to be happy with  a half-hearted effort, the “old college try”? Are we too closed off emotionally? Too busy? Just tired?

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