What the heck is H-O-L?

For many years now, Lisa and Geoff and I have gathered together at standard points in the year, and have made an institution out of Hashing-Out-Life.

Over time we have come to count on our gatherings; 

to live life without them would seem like something essential was missing from our existence

[somewhat like how these two felt with the removal of dairy from their lives and from our traditional Saturday morning brunch].

HOL blogs have become difficult to write over the years, 

because they all essentially say the same thing:

We ate ridiculously good food.

We partook us some culture.

We talked,

a lot.

But at the end of the day, 

despite the goodness of the eats,

the beauty of the treats,

and the never ending conversating,

all of it just leads me to say: So [the heck] what?

What is this 'life' we keep referring to anyway, and why hash it out, ad nauseum world without end amen?

And a bit of the answer, I suppose, is found in the reason why we feel compelled to make HOL happen, time and time again:

We're looking for life everywhere, you see.

We spend our time sinking in an overflow of words, 

charmed by warm beverages and decor,

 because we are looking for where the living is;

we lay out on the table the details of our lives 

and the status of our hearts since last we hashed,

because we are looking for the essence of the other.

We immerse ourselves in moments of power and aesthetic,

because we are looking for the deep that calls to deep;

we partake in the larger smash of humanity,

because we are looking for an anchor that tells us why it matters.

We dwell in late night quiet rest

because we are looking just to be,

and we eat [oh how we eat...]

because we are looking to be fed.

Essentially, all of these things could simply be moments of special here on earth, or, they could be reflections of a deeper need, a deeper looking, a deeper truth we're longing to see.

And so, I suppose it's not at all ironic that Sunday morning brought us to Tim Keller's sermon, the topic of which turned out to be: What is Life anyway, as Jesus offers it?

After a weekend of decadent treats, looking for and hashing out the life we've been called to live, we were reminded that to live--

to really live--is to remember the definition of the word "life":

Absolute fullness, real, and genuine, and as God envisioned it...  

...which Jesus said we wouldn't really find, unless we came to Him.

He called Himself the bread of it, the wine.

He said: I'm the essential.

And so, at the end of the day, here is the answer to my question, 

the reason why we Hash Out Life time and time again, 

and why it even matters:

We could hash out life all we want to, 

and never once come upon it,

or,  

we could know our need for this Essential, 

and help each other remember not to seek Him out alone.  

I'll take the second, thanks,

and dwell in so [the heck] What.