Isolation Solidarity

This past weekend I went up to NJ for a family event but had time to meet with my friend Dan for lunch. Dan’s in seminary right now, trying to figure out (like all of us) where God is calling him. I just want to say my friendship with Dan is such a blessing, we’ve known each other for about 16 years and I trust him with so much. I know he’s shared with me how I’ve helped his faith but there is no doubt that he’s helped mine. I think it’s perfect how God made us friends because with him discerning the priesthood and with myself in youth ministry it’s almost guarantee that we’ll talk about my favorite subject faith.
When we meet we catch up on how things in our lives are going but within 5 minutes we are talking about what we feel God is trying to do in our lives, where society is going and what we hope for and what we are thankful for.
This past weekend Dan and I talked about how difficult it is to live a life for the Lord because sometimes we feel isolated. Isolated in the way where we make the majority of our decisions are based on where God is trying to call us and the fact that there aren’t a lot of people out there who either fully understand or agree with that.
But when it comes to isolation I know I can’t fully relate to Dan because God’s blessed me with Kate to share faith struggles and triumphs as one, but we both do share times of isolation in our faith when it comes to family members and friends. The majority of our family and friends are made up of Christians but I think the decision to be a priest or the decision to be a youth minister doesn’t always make sense to them. Now don’t get me wrong I know my family is proud of me, loves me and supports me; however, when it comes to some of the decisions I make or the things I say, they must think I’m crazy, conservative, liberal or weird. This may not make sense to you all, considering this is idea is completely new to me, but I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m blessed to have Dan in my life because it’s where I know I can share the relationship I have with the Lord and go deeper. And I know I’m extremely blessed because I have not only Dan, but Kate, a great group of coworkers, and a small group where I can share faith in a way that helps me go deeper in my faith.
I guess this is a great example of what true accountability is all about.