Find your people, find yourself

air date: Saturday, November 11th at 8pm EST

This week our family hosted a group of friends from church. This particular group has gathered a couple times per month for years. We’ve had some new people join over the past few months, and some have moved or no longer attend. We usually pick a topic for our time together and a check-in question.

Our discussion topic for our time together most recently was thanksgiving and gratitude. Once everyone completed the check-in question (“What’s something you’re not grateful for?”) we invited everyone to share something about a person in the room that they were thankful for. At first I was really focused on what I might share about someone else, but as we got going I was able to be present in the moment and savor the beauty of humans loving each other well.

It impressed upon me that friendship grows slowly. It’s often so easy to forget the beautiful friends that are in our lives — we take them for granted. At least, I know I do.

I think I tend to live a little numb to my ache for friendship most of the time. But last week as I was polishing up the playlist, an old friend called me out of the blue. It had been over a year since our last conversation, and even though we only talked for maybe ten or fifteen minutes it re-awakened my appreciation for this friendship that had been sitting dormant. It got me thinking about friends down the street that I rarely see or seek out. Why is that?

Do I really value friendship? Or have I adopted a “take it or leave it” attitude toward genuine connection in favor of achieving “up and to the right” growth in another area of life?

One of the tracks from this month’s show that also has me thinking about the elements of true friendship is Andy Gullahorn’s song “I Will,” from his excellent album Beyond the Frame. That song, along with Carrie Newcomer’s “Sanctuary” paints a beautiful picture of “holding space” with someone and reminds me of those who have done that for me. What a precious gift!

I’m also featuring a couple friends this month (very appropriate, yes?), namely Adam Paulson with the song “Family Man” and local artist Vickie Maris with the song “Is It Tomorrow,” from her 2022 album Another Universe. Vickie’s song has the distinction of being the only song in the playlist about fighting and forgiveness — a very necessary element of lasting friendships.

There were so many great songs in this month’s show that I didn’t leave myself much time to riff on the topic of friendship. I was, however, able to include a beautiful Mary Oliver poem, “Mysteries, Yes.” If you miss listening live you can catch the replay on Spotify (note that without a Spotify account you’ll only hear previews of each song).

Acoustic Blend airs Saturday, November 11 at 8pm EDT on WBAA AM 920 in Lafayette / West Lafayette, and streaming live on wbaa.org.  You can view the full playlist below.  ‘Til next month!

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