As I prepared to leave on my annual writing retreat, I discovered a good friend had moved to the area. I thought she might want to catch up, and we made plans to get together. It meant taking a break in one of the earliest days of my retreat, which is usually a focused, productive time for me. But if we didn’t do it then, it might not work with her work schedule.
The sacrifice was worth it.
We sat at an adorable cafe and at delicious food (and Belgian hot chocolate). We shared updates of our lives and relived fun memories. We walked nearly every aisle of Target to pick up some useful things and even more ridiculously fun things. We picked up Starbucks before I dropped her off, and she and her roommate juggled all the bags to the apartment.
It was a beautiful afternoon—even beyond the time with my friend. Despite the pending snowstorm, it was unusually warm for a late January day. Plus, a writing retreat friend needed a ride to visit with a family member, so I got bonus time for 45 minutes each way as we traveled together.
Some things can’t be added to a goal sheet to be marked off as complete. Life experiences, especially relationships, are much too precious to be depersonalized and underestimated. The sacrifices are often costly, but they ultimately, aggregately have exponential returns.
Pure Purpose 