Gold Members

It only takes a few moments on Facebook and Instagram to realize a common theme on my thread: my friends have been blessed to experience the world in such beautiful ways. Whether it be sharing some of the earliest and most precious moments of a new born child's life, or the myriad of extraordinary summits of life conquered with no little difficulty, my friends seem to lead very blessed lives, thanks be to God.

Among those aforementioned blessings are no small number of travel experiences: there seems to be no end of vacation videos and photos from some of the most beautiful places (and food) in the world. This past weekend, I was able to go on my own little experience, albeit, in a very simple way: a group of very good friends traveled to the Sunshine Coast to share a weekend together.

It may not have been the most extravagant of vacations: friends took turns preparing meals for one another; the Sunshine Coast is only a few hours away from where everyone lives; there was no fantastically extraordinary program or activity.

And yet, what was lacking in physical extravagance was made up for genuine enjoyment. There was no shortage of laughs, often at each other's expense; there were board games, card games, and even an old Xbox 360; there was great music, singing, and dancing; there was even a wall of envelopes which facilitated an opportunity for each friend to write notes to one another (...although I...kinda... chose... not to participate).

Some things are good in of themselves. This particular group of friends combines a healthy sense of love for Christ, swagger, affection, bullying, laughter, levity, introspection and fun.

It takes a lot for a person to take oneself seriously enough to strive for holiness, and lightly enough to laugh at their own faults. It takes a lot to laugh out loud in one second, and reflect about insecurity and sin in the next. It takes a lot to welcome someone new to a tightly-knit group of childhood friends. And it takes a lot to enjoy something so simple, with extraordinary joy and love.

If you don't believe me...bet.