Stay and Talk a Little While

"Living Out LeaderTreks"  - A series on the core values and leadership principles of LeaderTreks. I'll share how they are lived out in the company and in my own life.  To start from the beginning click here   

People

So confession time again... I lied to you. My dear devoted readers. I told you on Wednesday that I would post again tomorrow - but tomorrow was Thursday. And no post :(
I'm sorry, I tried, but yesterday when I sat down and pulled up my page... nothing. Nothing was coming.
So, sorry for the lie, but here is the second day of PEOPLE!

I loved college!

Do you want to know why?

It was because of the community. Now I am an introvert (I hide it very well), but when I wanted people, they were right down the hall. There was always someone to eat meals with. Homework parties happened all the time. Saturday mornings you just hopped on down the hall to chill for the day.

But slowly, as the years passed on, and we moved to different halls and different dorms, different apartments in town, and finally graduated *poof* away goes the instant community.

Now, I have to be intentional. And I must admit always following the "Mission First, People Always" value becomes a little more difficult. Sometimes I forget that "People Always" is a part of that value.

When I first moved to Chicago I lived with a family whose community group met at their house. So I very quickly got plugged into my church through this weekly meeting and hanging out with these people. After a month and a half I found a permanent host family, but have continued to deepen friendships out of this group.

However, I found myself thinking more about putting the mission first over the people.
As the evening went by, I caught myself thinking about how "late" it was getting.
How I wanted a full 8 hours of sleep.
How because the mission was first it was important to go to bed to be on time to work.

So off I would run with lame excuses.

But with the new year I've realized, I should stay and talk a little while.
Yes it's important for me to be at work on time.
Yes it is important for me to get sleep.

But building this community is very important. It is People Always.

So i've set aside my 8 hours of sleep some nights at living room group and stayed and talked. I've done the "late" night Denny's run with people who God has placed in my life RIGHT now. And I've decided that it takes being intentional to put the Mission First and keep the People Always. It is not just about the Tuesday night meals together, sometimes it is about Friday night craft night and Sunday lunch after church. 

It is about finding the times that i can stay and talk a little while.