Loved these thoughts from Margaret Feinberg...need to be reminded of this often when I run at a pace where I'm falling short when it comes to experiencing real community personally while trying to serve my work community...
You can have all the online friends you want. Just make sure you have more in real life. For eight years, my husband, Leif, and I traveled together. I spoke and he managed me. For several years, we were on the road more than 200 nights per year. My marriage would have dissolved if we didn’t travel together.
During those years, we became detached from our local community. I held onto a handful of long-time friendships, but we were out of sync with a normal paced life. We weren’t free for weekend barbecues or bar mitzvahs with neighbors.
I nurtured long-distant relationships with friends around the country via phone and text, but I missed the local, real-life connection. Since then, Leif and I have nestled into a community and we’re loving every minute of it. No one cares about my profession. They care about me. And that’s a beautiful gift.
Jess and Matt’s kids attack me with bear hugs. Leah hunts treasures with me at garage sales. Ann and Andrea take long hikes with me in the rain. Greg and Jeri share their favorite restaurants. All are all antidotes to that toxic lollipop of online life.
One little secret: I’ve spent a lot of time with the headliners of the largest Christian conferences and all of them—sooner or later—beg to get off the road.
I wish someone had told me that sooner.
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