Invest in your Relationships

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"Thank You For Visiting"
On the Cardinal Greenway in Richmond, Indiana

Two of the three books I read during our recent visit to Indiana and Ohio made mention of the importance of intentionally investing in our relationships. This wasn't the premise of either book ("Scouting the Divine" by Margaret Feinberg, and "So Long, Insecurity" by Beth Moore), but the mention by both authors caught my attention. (Incidentally, relationships were also important in the third book that I read, "All The Light We Cannot See," by Anthony Doerr.)

I knew that there were certain relationships I wanted to invest in during our trip:
  1. Grandma - About the same time that I moved to California, my grandmother moved from Arkansas to Ohio. I'm so excited that when Randy and I travel to Ohio now we can see her too! And we did have a wonderful time together, from a pizza party to playing dominoes to a trip to Dairy Queen.
  2. My parents - Randy and I stay with my parents when we come to town, and one of my favorite things is sitting around the kitchen table in the morning, drinking coffee and talking about anything and everything. It is planting season so I didn't expect to get much time with my dad, but the stormy weather put the work on hold and we got to spend time with one another ever day!
  3. Angie - Miss Angie and I were "randomly" assigned to the same prayer group when I first moved to Indiana and we have been the best of friends ever since. I know that any time I come to town we will text back and forth for as long as it takes to find a time that works in both of our schedules to get together. This trip was no different.
  4. Terri - Some friendships have a life of their own, and that is what I have with Terri. It has grown and evolved, changed as necessary and strengthened over time. When I asked if she had time to get together she replied, "I will work it out one way or another. I don't want to miss a chance to see you." It was such an amazing response, one that made me feel just how important I was to her and how special our friendship is, which she further proved by getting a babysitter and spending three hours sharing her life and her heart with me. 
  5. Kari - My sister-in-law and I grew incredibly close in 2013 when I moved back to Ohio and lived just a few miles away from her, my brother, and their 5 beautiful children. But the last time Randy and I visited, Kari and I didn't get to spend much quality time together. This trip, however, we resumed our late night/early morning chats. We've evolved from trying to solve the world's problems to jumping right in and really getting to the heart of how God is challenging us. 
There were other relationships that I wanted to invest in during this trip, but for one reason or another it didn't happen. Namely, it feels like I hardly got to spend any time with my brother, which we will definitely remedy next trip!

Throwback to 2013, with my brother and his kids

But I did get to spend a significant amount of time with his children, and I have never been so grateful as to have spent that time (pre-Camino) in Ohio, intentionally investing in my relationship with them.

Throwback to 2013, with "the girls"

Spending time with people, whether children or adults, who you don't get to see that often can be extremely awkward, especially if you haven't invested time in between to stay connected. And while I'm not great at staying in touch long-distance, because we built a solid foundation (through trips to McDonalds, hikes, playing games, reading books, etc.) before I moved, we can easily pick up right where we left off. And for the most part the kids have become okay with the fact that I live a plane-ride away, because they know that when Randy and I do come to town we will take full advantage of our time together. 

Only Kenzi, on our last night together, asked me why "your world" has to be so far away from "our world." Indeed.

Image compliments of Starbucks, Columbus International Airport

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