Day Eighteen

Last night Pete Chamberlin gave his wife, Genie, a surprise birthday party. The fact that Pete could pull off a surprise party for Genie is amazing. Genie knows virtually everyone in Athens. You would have thought that someone would slip up and say something.

As I think about the evening there were many expressions of living intentionally. Their house is built intentionally for entertaining, which Genie and Pete love to do. It is an open flowing house. Two French doors open to the front porch allowing people to mix and mingle. It was easy to accommodate the 100 plus people that were there.

Genie is one of the most caring persons I know. Plus, she has one of the most diverse friend groups that I have ever seen. There were friends in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond. It is a statement of her genuine interest in people, her many interests and activities, and the way in which she intentionally stays connected with others.

For me personally, the party was a time to reconnect with friends, many I have not seen for a few years. Many of us at the party went to church together for a number of years.

There were neat conversations with men about our men’s weekend coming up in April. To all of our surprise, David Kopp, a judge in Green County, created a band and played at the party. None of us knew that he played his way through college with a band. Ken Parker and I reminisced about ten days we spent together in France fifteen years ago traveling through the Vogue Mountains. We also discovered that one of our friends son, Matt, is engaged.

Maybe the most powerful awareness was seeing the strength and joy that comes when you stay connected to friends. Loving and caring friends bring out the best in you. They encourage you to push beyond where you are to what you can be. They love you, not because of what you have done but for who you are. We would all be better if we learned to love ourselves in that same way.

I am thankful for my friends. As I move through this year, I am excited about building an even stronger community of friends to share the journey.