Dear Swifties,
To any Swifties out there on the interwebs this evening, here’s a fact you may or may not know: Before there was Kelce, there was Mayer. John Mayer.
If you don’t know who John Mayer is, do yourself a favor and sit in your most comfortable chair next to a fully supplied “Puffs Ultra Soft” box of tissues, and listen to the audible heartbreak that is his album “Continuum”.
After that - do yourself another favor and put the status of your romantic relationships gently back in their place, remembering that even though “it won’t all go the way it should, the heart of life is good.”
Fun Fact: I have been in John Mayer’s house.
No, I didn’t get to meet him (and no, I’m not a burglar), but still a funny little story that I had kind of forgotten about until my good buddy John got brought up in conversation.
I have a friend named Ben who worked in property management in Montana. One of the houses he managed was, you guessed it, John Mayer’s. The area is beautiful, and is becoming more and more a haven for artists, actors, and other creatives to retreat and find inspiration.
Every so often, I’d go with Ben to help him out. This was the first business Ben had owned, and staying on top of all the things would sometimes get to feel pretty overwhelming. One time I got to deliver a package (into buddy John’s house). Another time I got to mow the grass. Another time was a little more stressful for Ben.
We had mowed the grass earlier that day, wrapped things up, and went to his place to play board games. Then it rained. The grass we had mowed earlier was left for the wind to blow away, but now the rain had firmly plastered it along the edge of the driveway. To make matters worse, John’s people had messaged Ben telling him that he was coming in later that night. It was 11pm.
So we went. We raked and raked and raked trying to get the silly grass off of the silly driveway so it would look silly good for silly John Mayer who had decided to come in so silly late.
At one point, Ben stopped furiously raking. It got quiet as he looked up at me. His headlamp shining in my face. He said:
“We’ll always have this, Wes.”
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One day Jesus told his listeners to pay attention to what it was they valued most in life. It was a question of what they treasured - what they had set their sights on in life and what they had decided to make it all about.
We all do this, whether we know we are doing it or not. We make life about something, center our lives around it, put all of our efforts and plans toward it. We could deny life is about anything with our words, but our actions, thoughts, loves and fears would betray us. We can’t not make life about something.
Money?
Things?
Safety?
Pleasure?
Power?
“Be careful,” Jesus says, “what you decide to make life all about. Some things will last. Some things will fade away, rusted and moth-eaten, stolen away by a thief in the night.”
Jesus was asked one day, “Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Read: “What is life all about?”
Jesus’ reply: Love.
To love. To most highly value God and what is most important to Him: people. To connect and be connected with. To share a story at a moment in time. To “always have this.”
THIS is the stuff of life. Individual moments in time filled to overflowing with love. Connection. A story shared. THIS is something that will never fade, and can never be taken away.
“We’ll always have this.”
I encourage you all - don’t miss it. Don’t miss the unique moment in time you have to store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: to love, to connect, to share a story, to:
Go on the “Cookout” run at 2am.
Cry over your breakup in front of the friend who cares.
Ask your weird roommate to play board games with your friends.
Crank out that paper with the classmates who joined you in putting it off.
Say the thing you’re afraid to say.
Absolutely nail that lip sync contest.
Don’t let money, security, pleasure, or anything else that’s here one day and gone the next keep you from what matters most and will never be taken away: love.
And while you’re at it, don’t forget to stop every so often to look up at God and the people around you to note:
“We’ll always have this.”