We drove about 550 miles yesterday. I spent a good portion of that time talking on the phone with friends, some current and some old. All of the friends I spoke with are colleagues in ministry. They live in different states, and serve in different capacities, but our lives are intersected – we are friends. The conversations were interesting: Some friends were encouraging me. Some were looking for a little advice. Some were hurting and needing a lift. Some just wanted to shoot the breeze. But these conversations were all valuable and necessary. I loved making good use of otherwise useless time. It was productive, both relationally and spiritually.
Here’s the thing: I seldom take time to just call friends to see how they are doing. By this I mean that people who are not necessarily under my sphere of responsibility sometimes get left out of my life – but this is unintentional. I’m not much of a phone guy and therefore I neglect people whom I shouldn’t. I get busy. As a result, I sometimes miss out on the lives of my friends. I am not available to encourage them or be encouraged by them. My experience yesterday was a reminder of how important catching up really is.
I hope to be more intentional with my friends in the future. While my friends may not be looking for a call from me or even be needing me to call them on a certain day, still, we need to talk. That’s what friends are for.
Be intentional in catching up with friends. Call someone. It’ll do you and them some good.
Thoughts on Life and Leading 