Day Forty-One

WHO YOU DO LIFE WITH MATTERS AS MUCH AS WHAT YOU DO

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

—PROVERBS 27:17 NIV

When you’re picking a job or going after your calling, if you abandon all the people who matter, then you’ve missed out on how to do this well.

We see that all the time, right? People work super hard and put in fifteen-hour days, but they don’t have any friends or they go home to broken families.

We’ve got to be brave enough to find balance. Even if there’s financial pressure (there usually is, isn’t there?). Even if there’s pressure at work. We have to be brave enough to balance work and life because we need relationships.

In the early days of my Nashville life, I developed a group of friends who became like family. We were all very low on funds (some would say “broke”), and we all wanted to be together. No one wanted to eat alone, but we couldn’t afford to eat out.

And so began family dinner.

Our Sunday ritual started out simple enough. Much like the classic children’s tale Stone Soup, we all brought what meager things we could to scrounge together a decent meal. Jason brought a pound of ground beef. While Laura browned it, Emily chopped an onion. We boiled noodles and added carrots (thank you, Claire) and a variety of fresh garden veggies (from Joel, who is a famous songwriter, so he was rich enough to buy fresh vegetables). And with a lot of water, that soup satisfied us.

We’ve got to be brave enough to find balance.

Evan makes the meanest grilled cheese sandwich this side of the Mississippi. Thanks to Betsy, who brought a block of sharp cheddar cheese; Marisa, who provided a loaf of bread; and my garlic salt, we all ate our fill.

I relaxed into that family spot like it had always been mine. And week after week, we ate together.

It wasn’t always a perfect setup. When you fill a family with young artists pursuing their dreams, emotions tend to run higher than usual (creatives are known for that) and people get their feelings hurt. There were times when friends got left out or too many people showed up but forgot food to share, so there wasn’t enough to feed everyone. But for months, our tradition lived. We made room for each other every week. We prioritized each other—with our time, our money, and our groceries.

Friends, we all need that. Don’t let pursuing your dreams or maximizing your calling keep you from investing in relationships. Share your life with others.

BE BRAVE: Eat dinner with someone tonight. Call a friend. Text your family. Find someone to hang out with, and share your story with that person.