Not Like Old Times

Last week I had the privilege of attending a College & Career retreat by Cypress Community Church. Honestly, I haven’t been on a retreat for years. It’s usually because I don’t want to spend the money. However, what made this retreat special was the fact that my childhood friend, Dom, was the youth pastor putting it all together. Furthering the uniqueness of the opportunity was that my other childhood friend, Bryan, was preaching at the retreat. I thought to myself, “It’ll be like old times” . . . old times being juvenile behavior, crass jokes, and tons of laughing while we make fun of each other and/or other people.

Here’s where things got a little tricky, at least for me. Dom, Bryan and I got to the retreat site early and prayed for the retreat, the people attending the retreat, and discussed Bryan’s sermon notes. As you can imagine, I was almost immediately disappointed we weren’t screwing around and making fun of each other with the same fervor we once had in high school. There was an epiphany on my part that said, “Hey jack@$$, you’re not in high school anymore.” Somehow I forget this fact. However, this realization changed my mind set. Instead of giving in to old juvenile tendencies, I got lost in getting to know other people, giving suggestions to Bryan for his studies, and trying to give encouragement and advice to different individuals when I had the opportunity. It was like I was a useful adult. It was extremely taxing to be serious and focused. I don’t know how serious and focused people do it on a regular basis. But with the Lord’s strength, I was able to do it for an entire weekend.

After the retreat was over, Dom, Bryan, and I had some good quality time catching up, making fun of each other, and laughing a ton. So all was not lost. I find it interesting to reflect on the current life-stage we are all in and even to think about where we’re headed. I see how important it is to process thinks like, “Am I being a good husband and father?” or “Am I becoming the person Christ wants me to be?” with friends who know you best. If we never self-evaluate we’ll never know how badly we are missing the mark. As human beings, we tend to simply drift towards complacency, indifference, and apathy. If there is not a community around you challenging you to get better at what you’re doing, who is going to push you? I’m blessed to have friends who care that I live my life in a way that honors God and to have those same friends crack jokes about each other and enjoy each other’s company.