I have been to numerous conferences over the years and hate to admit that I have more than a few 3-ring binders, fancy notebooks, and thoughtful little journals that haven’t been opened again after I returned home. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that. Instead, in recent years, I’ve been trying to name one thing that I learned or am taking with me and that I’ll actually use in my life/ministry. Sometimes, it’s a throw-away comment that sticks.
My wife and I went to a conference in New York at Redeemer Presbyterian Church to learn more about faith & work, imagination & innovation. There were lots of take-aways, but it was the introduction of a speaker that’s the one thing that has stayed with me.
The speaker was David Brooks, a columnist for The New York Times. David Kim (the executive director of the Center on Faith & Work for Redeemer) introduced him. Among the many things that Kim highlighted, he also made a simple statement: “David loves New York.” For some reason, I was taken by that. On the one hand, it makes sense. One would hope that a New York Times columnist would love New York. But the combination of this statement and David Brooks’ talk convinced me that his love for New York is what feeds his vocation.
I’ve lived in Chicago for 5 ½ years now. I used to tell folks that 80 percent of the time, I’ve loved it more than anything, and 20 percent of the time I can’t stand it. But I also have said that I’ll take that over living in a place where everything is just “fine.” A place where you don’t love it and you don’t hate it. It’s just…fine. Beginning late last spring, though, that 80-20 gap started closing and by the end of the summer it was pretty much 50-50. The congestion, the lack of green space, the cost of living were all starting to wear on me.
Lately, though, I’ve been falling in love with Chicago again. It would take too long to explain why the change, but part of it has been simply my committing to this relationship to my city.
Gratitude for a home will be a popular thing to say this Thursday (though, sadly, not for all). If you do have a home, I encourage you to express thanks not just for your it, but for your place. Whether it’s city, country, suburb, or town, pray for the commitment to invest in it so that you and your place will flourish.