Chacos.

Sunshine.

Loud music.

Warmer weather.

Car windows down.

Wind through my hair.

Time well spent with friends.

Let’s be honest, the biggest thing I’m going to celebrate today was the fact my toes were hanging out and my Chacos were pounding pavement. I live and breathe by days I can wear my sturdy, strappy friends who have lived a lot of life with me. Next in line to celebrate was not just one, but TWO meals with friends as conversation ebbed and flowed, and we could get our quality time fix met.

What are the relationships you feel like you have not had enough time with in the last year? How do you celebrate when you are finally able to connect in person? You know it gets crazy when the introverts are craving people…imagine what us extroverts have been dealing with!

I sometimes wonder what people see when they look into some of our relationships. Do they see harsh words and rigid body language? Or laughter and easy banter? When they see it, is their instinct to run away or are they drawn to us like a magnet?

When we used to eat out at restaurants…were we the ‘fun’ table people wanted to join? Or were we just obnoxious? Were we all on our phones and not talking with each other? Did we have an argument at our table? Tense conversation that made people avert their eyes?

Do our conversations with others reflect kindness and respect? Do people pass us and randomly think, I could be friends with that person? Or even seek us out based on what they see?

I was in a restaurant last summer with a friend. Our conversation ranged from multiple extremes of joy and seriousness. We sat talking for a couple of hours. We were not in a hurry, of course paying attention to others waiting, it was the middle of the afternoon, so the restaurant was not busy. The waiter had been observing all of this, and when we got ready to leave, he came back to the table and asked how long we had known each other. Laughing we said it had been about ten years. His response was one that I wish I could have etched in my memory a bit deeper. He said that he wished he had friends like us, because our genuine love for each other was very evident.

What would happen if everyone we were in contact with desired the same? The waiter saw something different in our friendship, and he had walked up on some serious and intense conversation. It wasn’t just laughter, unicorns and glitter.

We all have the capability to be Kingdom magnets.

People are drawn to kindness.

People are drawn to love when it is lived out loud.

And fortunate for me…they are also drawn to laughter.

Celebrate kindness and love with a side of laughter today…or make it the main course, your choice, you beautiful Kingdom magnet!