You Gotta Have People

This past weekend we headed back to Kentucky for a few days. We moved away over a year and a half ago, but we still have family and friends in our town where we moved from. There was a missional community one day conference nearby and Spencer had a post-op appointment with his surgeon. Instead of making that 4 hour drive twice, we took advantage of the fact it was spring break for the kids and packed us all up and moved in for five days with my sister in law.

Thanks to the flexibility of my husband's new job (this is new territory for us) we had more time than we usually do. And man, did we take advantage of it! Every day we visited with two or three sets of people. My dad drove two hours to join us for dinner. We filled our brains with encouragement and direction about church-planting strategy. We hugged family. We went to our home church. We flaunted our cute baby all over town. :) The kids were exhausted, to say the least. But both Stuart and I got some real time with many of our people.

Y'all. Do you know what I am talking about when I say "my people?" Do you have any?

God truly blessed me with some amazing people in that town. I do not know how to adequately put words to the blessing that is having people. There are a handful of women that require no pretense. I can be me. And honestly, since moving, I have lost sight of who that really is.

Some do not even have a person. But I have more than one.

Some of my people get me because they too have twins. (In case you didn't realize, that is a unique trademark.) Some have big families and I can pick their brains. Some have adopted (okay several of my people have or are in the process of adopting!) and that, too, is a unique parenting trademark. Maybe their husbands are in ministry. Maybe we share a fierce love of our Savior. Maybe we are just flat out alike. We are family. There are lots of things that connect me with my people.

But good gracious alive, it feels GOOD to sit around a table, on the floor, outside with our kids, on their couch watching shows, stand in their kitchen with a woman my heart is connected to. Does that sound cheesy? I don't really care.

We share a sarcastic joke. We discipline each other's kids. We ask for godly wisdom. We reveal a deep sin or struggle. We prepare food. We try to talk each other into something we would never do alone. We eat junk food. We laugh at our own ridiculousness. We catch up on the mundane of life.

This new city is my home. God confirms that every time we go. But my heart misses my people in the flesh and blood. The real life.

Thank you Lord, for my people.

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