Do It Anyway
Read the story first: Do It Anyway.
Nugget of Wisdom
The outcome was never your job. The effort was.
SOP
Sit facing each other. If comfortable, hold hands. Close your eyes and remove distractions. Think of a time you invested in somebody and it did not come back. Money, time, a car you co-signed, a Sunday school class you taught for years to kids who never came back to say thank you. Or turn it around, and think of a time somebody invested in you and you did not drink. Focus on the feeling, not the dollar amount. After reflecting, share your story with each other. When finished, come together as a group and talk about what stood out.
Questions
- Who have you invested in who never seemed to notice? Did you keep going, or did you quit?
- Cheryl told me the girls had me wrapped around their finger, and she was right to a significant degree. Has anyone told you that about someone you love? Were they right?
- Aunt Gladys offered three boys the same water. When somebody led you to the drinking hole, did you drink? Why or why not?
- In your own words, what is the difference between investing in someone and being used by someone? Do you and your partner draw that line in the same place?
- Is there somebody you have stopped investing in because the return was not there?
Closing Reflection
I will tell you what I told Cheryl a hundred times. We do our best. The outcome is up to each grandchild and the Lord’s will, and that was above our pay grade. That is not an excuse to be a fool with your money or your time. It is permission to keep going when the fool is the one you love. Life will crash and shatter. Do it anyway.
Mission for the Week
Listen to the song. Together, in the truck or at the kitchen table, all the way through, and do not skip it. Then pick one person the two of you have been tempted to quit on. Agree on one investment you will make in them this week, and agree on the size of it beforehand, so nobody is wrapped around anybody’s finger. A phone call, a ride, a meal, twenty dollars, an afternoon. Make it. Expect nothing back.
Then the harder part. Each of you name one person who invested in you when you were young and never got a thank-you for it. If they are alive, call them this week. If they are not, tell your partner about them out loud, the whole story. Somebody offered you the drinking hole once. Say their name.
Enjoy the process. What matters is the investment, the effort, and the attitude you bring to it. Settle it between the two of you that you will keep pouring the water, and let the Lord decide who drinks.
Drafted for review — not yet approved by Ron.