Welcome to the June 20th edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
The Story of My Week
This week was a special opportunity to enjoy the blessings that come from friendship and community.
After service on Sunday, a family asked if they could babysit our kids while my wife and I went for a date.
This was something we hadn’t been able to do in a long time. It was a welcome gift which we didn’t expect but a wonderful one.
Of course, we said yes.
Later that week, my Italian neighbor invited the family over for dinner. It was more than that. It was an opportunity for me to learn from him while made pizza from scratch.
We had eaten a couple of pizzas from him so it was great to also get a behind-the-scenes experience of making it.
It was a wonderful time of family and fun. Our kids played while the mothers kept a watchful eye as the fathers made pizzas.
I am grateful for the simple gift of friendship and community that God gives.
And the privilege to enjoy them.
I appreciate them by celebrating them.
Things I Learnt
1-Once Ignored now a Necessity: I was speaking with a family friend with a child having delays starting to speak.
I’m a bit familiar with this because one of our kids faced that after we moved to a non-English speaking country when he was just one year old.
One of the things recommended as part of the process to help him was having play dates with other kids.
According to professionals, kids learn better through play and not through a formal classroom setting.
I smile when I think about playdates.
When we were growing up, we didn’t need to have playdates. We simply visited our age mates living on the same street with us - no need for our parents to schedule an appointment for that.
The world has changed and that sounds like something from days gone by.
It’s possible that some of the things we now go through therapy to solve were solved in days gone by simply by us being in a community.
The whole experience deepened in me the need to keep a community around me and my family.
This is one of the reasons we also try to have people over for meals.
Enjoying community without a set agenda - celebrating a birthday or a special event.
Rather enjoying community because we celebrate it.
It will help not only our growth and health but also that of our children.
2-Helpful no Matter What: The family that offered to babysit our kids while my wife and I went for a date gave me a big lesson.
In context, they had their hands very full. They had four kids with the oldest just a starting teen and the youngest still waiting for a second birthday.
They ordinarily should not be offering to add more kids to their caring party to make space for another couple.
The gift of their time humbled me.
There is never a good excuse not to be able to do a caring deed.
It takes commitment and a heart of service.
I learned that from this family.
Postscript
May you not let the excuse of your current situation in life keep you from serving the people around you. May you find ways to bless people even from your limited gifts for Jesus’ sake. Amen
Tata
Tola
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