When I was completing my undergrad, I had a vision of what it would look like to build meaningful relationships with the people that I lived with. Junior year, I tried to get some roommates on board with the idea of cooking meals for each other. It failed miserably.
The next year I found myself in a house with 7 other dudes, and this time it was a success. Each week, two of us would cook for everyone else in the house. We'd sit down around our table, eat, and share meaningful things that were going on in our lives. There is not much I remember from senior year, but I remember a lot about those meals. Some of the food was great; some was terrible. Regardless, I knew that I'd be eating and sharing that time with men that knew me, cared about me, and loved me well. There is something unique about the bonds that are formed while eating meals together.
Flash forward a couple of years, and tonight you'd find some of us back at the same house, being fed by guys who have kept the tradition alive. After counting, we figured out that there have been 24 of us that have lived in that house throughout the last 4 years. That's 24 guys that have cooked meals for each other and gotten a chance to be a part of something that bigger than themselves. We've shared Jesus with each other, encouraged each other, and made each other better men.
When my friends and I originally searched for a place to live that year, there is no way that we could have known the way that God would use us to bring each of us closer to him. We didn't know whether or not it'd be wise to shove eight guys in a house with just two showers and no dishwasher. We had no clue if we'd all even get along. Yet somehow, it worked.
I'm thankful for the opportunity that God gives us to be a part of His story. He adds meaning, grace, and joy in ways that we don't always expect, and loves us in ways that we didn't know we needed. I used to think that the most memorable things in life had to be big and loud and thrilling, but now I think that sometimes it's as simple as sitting down and sharing a meal.
“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”
-Donald Miller
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