What's the Point?

This past weekend, my family took a quick trip out of town for my kids' Regional Cross Country Meet. I, unfortunately, was not able to go with them, which means I was home alone for a couple of days. This is not the first time I've been home alone without my family, but it is definitely not the norm, and I had a few realizations while they were away.

First, I was able to get a bunch of stuff done. It's amazing how much you can get done when there's no one expecting or wanting you to be somewhere at a specific time, and meals are whenever you feel like eating. In the first few hours I was able to accomplish about a half dozen errands. I went to several stores that I had gift cards to, and I was able to take time and browse and see what I wanted to get, something that I don't normally have much time to do.

Second, I realized how quiet it was. The dogs were very subdued, without the kids around, and they weren't really barking at all. There was no one else in the house. No one talking, no one playing, no one arguing, no one laughing, no one singing. It was very quiet.

As an introvert, I don't mind being by myself. In fact, I enjoy it. Being by myself is what recharges my batteries, and there are aspects of being alone that I really like. However, it was very quiet.

As I was doing laundry and running errands and looking at books and watching TV and listening to podcasts I began to ask the question, "What's the Point?"

What's the point of doing all of this stuff? What's the point of having time and accomplishing stuff? Of course, there are plenty of reasons for doing things, for succeeding, for working hard, but at the end of the day, the point is people. At the beginning of creation, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." He set up families and communities and relationships because people are not meant to be alone. Humans need people.

We are made for God, to worship Him and bring Him glory, but we need each other. We cannot be the best versions of ourselves, cannot do everything that we are designed to do, without the fellowship, love, accountability and support of others. 

What's the point? Without people in your life who love you and whom you love, there's not a whole lot of purpose. If everything you do is just for you it tends to fall flat. The point is to love God and love others, so whether others are your kids, parents, spouse, friends, neighbors, or any other relationship, invest in them, embrace them. Things can get loud and messy and unpredictable when people are involved, but that's the point, not the plan, but the people, and people are so much better than any plan.