Searching for Connection

You’re Looking for Connection

Our family has packed and unloaded our minivan a dozen times this summer. We’ve traveled to a cottage in Seaside, a cabin in Breckenridge, the quiet lakes of Nebraska, and the hot, crowded streets of downtown Houston. It’s been a summer of thousands and thousands of miles, of awe and excitement, of serious fatigue, and of big emotions.

Why all the travel? At this point, our family has been home together fewer than eight days this summer. We’re weary from the constant movement. So, what keeps us going and seeing and doing and exploring? Why can’t we just stay home and binge Netflix?

Connection. It’s what our family and every single other person is looking to find. We travel, and scroll, and watch, and strive because we want to connect. This is the way God made us—to crave connection. I see it in our family and I see it everywhere. 

Here’s what our family wants to connect with right now… 

Before Catie heads to college, she’s looking to connect with her future. She’s in constant contact with her new friends, teammates, and idea of who she wants to become. 

Sam and Elisabeth are looking to connect with as many teenagers as possible before they start high school. It’s been the summer of fifteen-year-olds. Every trip has involved big packs of them—invading the streets of Houston, fighting during Race for the Kingdom at Camp Lone Star, and clustering at our house and in our minivan. 

Nate is looking to connect with his siblings, who are scrambling for independence during such big transitions. He’s watching them to see the epic challenges they’re tackling. He’s wondering where that leaves him. I can see him asking, what’s exciting about becoming a seventh grader–the middle year of middle school?

Mike and I, of course, are looking to connect our family. We could not be more hopeful about what this next season holds for all of us. And yet, I’m a little desperate to gather us all together. Bring on the epic adventures and travel. I’m so hopeful these will give our kids vivid memories and deep ties to each other.

What about you? What are you trying to connect with right now? A past version of yourself? A future version? A group of people? God? Your true identity?

This question has us all traveling and texting and posting and watching to see who we are in the world—and who we are supposed to be. 

For me, that answer has come down to what God has given me right now. My purpose as a wife, a mom, a writer, and a Christian. I’m looking—far and wide—to understand the world around me, so I can connect more deeply with my identity as God’s child. 

We have a few more epic weeks of summer left. My prayer is this: as each and every one of us travels and searches, may we know the connection we’re looking for is the one with our Lord. Every day, He gives us our identity, our purpose, and our tasks. This is our past, our future, our truth.

Amen.