ReConnect

Getting back to the US, traveling, and going through wedding season has been loads of fun. And it also has been an important time of reconnecting with people.

I've been terrible about "keeping in touch" with people. There are friends I've made who, after a while of not keeping in touch, those relationships just slowly fade - even to the point where I struggle just to remember their name on first glance! I've wrongly assumed that the relationships I have with people will remain and maintain themselves, somehow, automatically.

Even going through my Facebook "friends" is a testament to this. How many FB "friends" do you have on your list, but when looking back, you realize you don't even remember half of them or haven't talked to them in a long time? My aim is not to stay close with every single person I ever meet or be Mr.Popular, but keep in touch with those I've built significant relationships with.

A friend recently told me that "Well, that would make you a typical guy, Joe."

Yea, maybe. But I've decided I'm not giving into that.

Keeping in touch with people is kind of like the way I learned to march in the Marine Corps. On longer marches (can be more than 10 miles at a time), we'd sometimes just get in one long, single-file line and trudge along at a 3mph pace. If one person in that line loses track or starts slowing down, then the whole line starts to fall behind, bunch up, and get stretched out. That's not good, because on a march, we're on a mission. If the line gets too spread apart because Marines are getting too tired or complacent, then when there's a need for the Marines to gather together quickly, it takes more time and effort to do so versus when everyone is keeping the line and formation tight all along the way.

We even have a "ditty" to ensure we're keeping the line well-connected:
The leader will shout: "AT&T!"

Everyone else: "Reach out and touch someone!"
(everyone runs to grab the Marine's shoulder in front of them - sometimes it requires a lot of sprinting to catch up).

The group is always moving forward - it takes hard work to continue on with the mission. The less focus we have in keeping close to each other, the harder we have to work to "catch up".

In the same way, relationships are too important to just sideline - growth isn't automatic! It takes a real mutual effort for relationships to progress. Simply, as people change, the relationship between both parties must change as well. Otherwise, there will be a disconnect that will only get wider and wider with time and neglect.

It's been a great month of "catching up" with family and friends. I am committed to reconnecting with people I've lost touch with and keeping in touch with those I love.

ReLax

Last week, I got all my traveling done. I flew into New Jersey to see my family and a couple of friends, flew into Seattle for friends' wedding, stopped by Chicago to catch up with some folks there, then got back into Ann Arbor. It was just awesome catching up with family and friends. A lot has changed and between some friends, we had to get to know each other all over again. I'm starting to understand the significance of what Abe Lincoln said: "Never fall behind on your correspondence".

Although traveling to four cities and three different time zones across the US in 9 days was exhilarating and tiring, it was actually refreshing. The key thing that set the pace of my trip was the message I heard on Sunday, the morning after I landed in New Jersey.

The message preached was on the importance of rest - not just doing other things in place of our usual busy-ness, but real rest.

It's been over one month since I returned to the States and I was eager to get back into the swing of things. I should've taken the advice I received and eased into transitioning. I jumped right into serving. It was good on one hand, reconnecting with lots of people, but it was just too much and I definitely overestimated myself.

It was as if I had been used to running at 100 feet above sea level where the air is nice and dense and thick. Then, I was suddenly transported to 1,000 feet above sea level and was trying to run at the same pace in the thinner air - it's much more difficult to do.

The past couple of weeks, though full, have been much better. I've had the opportunity to just rest and relax. A good friend told me recently a good piece of advice: "Try to set a pace of life and ministry in which you can see yourself going for the next 10 years."

That doesn't mean complacency and a stagnant life, but one that is focused and full.
Learning to make the most out of every opportunity, especially the brief moments of rest.