In the course of spending a week in Tennessee, I realized that I have missed certain events that many take as a given. Except for a few years right after university, I have never been a part of a sports league. I have missed regular softball or bowling outings with friends. I was never at home long enough to rationalize spending my Sundays playing golf. I did watch several games with Carli or Whitney playing. However, I do not recall ever coaching a game where my children were playing. The regular banter that comes from always being around has never been there. I missed this form of connectedness.
I have come to realize that there are different ways of being connected. An author writing of a time long ago said, “They went on ahead and waited for us in Troas. Meanwhile, we stayed in Philippi for Passover Week, and then set sail.” (Acts 20.5) Even then, travel, being apart from the other, and living in anticipation of being together was a reality.
This can be stressful. It can also focus one’s attention on the broad ways we are connected with each other. I have come to realize that caring and carelessness transcends distance. One can act in support of others, regardless of how close or not close they are. One can celebrate great moments, when one is present and even in absence. Things are always better when we are together, however distance does not mean that we are disconnected.
I am in an extended period of reconnecting, disconnecting, and reconnecting again. Implicit in each exchange are intertwined events – the renewal of relationship and the nurturing of others from afar. I realize that each sacrifice provides an opportunity. What happens will be the outcome of how I exercise the freedom I have within.
Life can be seen as complex and messy. It is but the choices we have are often simple choices. Will I strive to be connected? Will I work to make a difference? Will I think community? The moment of choice is always now.
