On several occasions, my eight-year-old son Liam has begged me to take him to visit his buddies from school, two brothers who live a half-mile down the road.

I always demur. Apparently, he doesn’t know that in America in 2022 you can’t just ​“drop in.” These things require some degree of planning or at least a text, and I don’t have their phone number. Besides, I’m tired and afraid of rejection and there are dishes to be done.

But last night he asked and I couldn’t shake the Spirit’s gentle pressing: Go see them.

We arrived on bicycles and rang the doorbell. One brother came to the door, then the other, then their father, a Middle Eastern man whose face I couldn’t read. They stood in the doorway and we on the stoop, and for several awkward moments it felt like this visit would be very brief indeed. But soon all the boys were riding bikes and Mohammad and I were deep in conversation.

Mostly, I listened. He told me about his work as a used car salesman, why he left Afghanistan twenty years ago, and what he appreciates about America. Without any prompting, he shared his thoughts on Muslims and Christians and how much he respects ​“the prophet Jesus.” An hour later when we rode away, Liam’s face was beaming, and I noticed my body was carrying far less stress and a little more hope and compassion.

Then this morning… I stopped by my church to move some stuff. Lots of transition there: the building is being sold, and after three decades of faithful service the founding pastor, Mark Fesmire, retires this Sunday.

Through the windows of his barren office, I saw Mark standing alone holding a coffee mug. How strange to see his many bookshelves empty. I tapped on the window and intended only to say a quick hello — but sensed the Holy Nudge to slow down. I asked if he had a minute. He did. He gifted me, in fact, with an hour of unhurried conversation.

I walked away thankful, refreshed, recentered.

Nathan Foster’s words come to mind: ​“I have now come to believe that building and cultivating relationships is the most significant thing I will ever do on earth.”