G.O.G.I.
A decade ago I was in my first year of Seminary in Richmond, Indiana. One of my classmates, Jennie, said to me: "We should do lunch sometime." I agreed. Some time passed, maybe weeks, maybe months, then finally we scheduled our lunch. While we were at Mancino's, the local pizza place, we said, "Hey, we're actually doing this!"
I remember that lunch for so many reasons. Jennie taught me that you can order food at Mancino's that isn't on the menu. Jennie and I discovered that we had a ton in common, namely that we were both trying to figure out how to be stepparents in a world where "wicked" and "stepmother" go hand-in-hand. Jennie reminded me that "we should get together" should not be a platitude that we say because it sounds nice, but shows the integrity of a person who says it and follows through. And that we really should get together, in person, with both new acquaintances and old friends, as we go through this life.
These are things I totally would have missed out on had we not followed through on our good intentions. And while we don't see each other or talk much, she is a friend for life.
I was thinking of Jennie this week as Randy and I not only made plans with but followed through and went on a hike with his brother, Rod. I was reminded how much joy there is in following through!
Rod lives an hour and a half north of us, close enough for a day trip but far enough that we hadn't made the trip before. We went on a snowshoe walk together over Christmas and started talking about future hikes and camping trips. It took us until the last week of March, but we followed through! And I have high hopes that our intentions of doing it again in the near future will come to pass.
Pastor Steven Furtick says that we each have a GOGI, a Graveyard Of Good Intentions, where all the stuff you're going to do when you "get around to it" goes to die. How big is your graveyard? Are you buying up extra plots? Or are you struggling to fill the space you already own? I hope, in my year of living intentionally, that fewer and fewer of my intentions knock on death's door, and more of them see their way to fulfillment.
I remember that lunch for so many reasons. Jennie taught me that you can order food at Mancino's that isn't on the menu. Jennie and I discovered that we had a ton in common, namely that we were both trying to figure out how to be stepparents in a world where "wicked" and "stepmother" go hand-in-hand. Jennie reminded me that "we should get together" should not be a platitude that we say because it sounds nice, but shows the integrity of a person who says it and follows through. And that we really should get together, in person, with both new acquaintances and old friends, as we go through this life.
These are things I totally would have missed out on had we not followed through on our good intentions. And while we don't see each other or talk much, she is a friend for life.
I was thinking of Jennie this week as Randy and I not only made plans with but followed through and went on a hike with his brother, Rod. I was reminded how much joy there is in following through!
Rod lives an hour and a half north of us, close enough for a day trip but far enough that we hadn't made the trip before. We went on a snowshoe walk together over Christmas and started talking about future hikes and camping trips. It took us until the last week of March, but we followed through! And I have high hopes that our intentions of doing it again in the near future will come to pass.
Pastor Steven Furtick says that we each have a GOGI, a Graveyard Of Good Intentions, where all the stuff you're going to do when you "get around to it" goes to die. How big is your graveyard? Are you buying up extra plots? Or are you struggling to fill the space you already own? I hope, in my year of living intentionally, that fewer and fewer of my intentions knock on death's door, and more of them see their way to fulfillment.
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