Rallying Points

by Mark Tetley

Have you ever watched preschoolers go into a room full of toys?  They go in one by one, find something that interests them and start playing with it. As more kids come in some will begin playing together and others will stay off to the side. If you ever go out for a picnic or to the beach with several families all someone has to do is throw any kind of ball into the field, along with a frisbee and the kids go crazy as they rally together.

As we get older is seems that we lose our desire to rally together with others. It is as if we quit being social and isolate ourselves from others. I think the solution might just be as simple as we miss having someone throw the ball onto the field. We focus on our responsibilities, our bills, our daily tasks and lose out on opportunities to rally around something with others. Some of my fondest memories of rallying together with people came after someone put a hot pizza in the middle of the table or pulled out a deck of cards and a bag of chips and said, “Let’s eat!” or “Let’s play!” 

Independence Day is a rallying point. It is one time of the year when Americans put aside their ideological and political differences in order to celebrate the great country that we are blessed to live in. 

Jesus Christ is the rallying point for Christians. People who speak different languages, come from various economic and social backgrounds, the young and the old, the poor and the wealthy are instantly united and find harmony as they talk about their faith and their love for their Savior. 

Summer is a great time to get together with people. Schedules are more relaxed, kids are out of school, it stays light much later. Think about what you could provide a group of people at work, your neighbors, or your family that would be the rallying point. Toss it out there and see what happens. 

As summer is upon us and taking us out of our normal routines, I have decided that it would be a good time to take a break from my weekly posts for a few weeks to evaluate how things are going and to prepare myself to produce better quality material going forward. In the meantime, as you interact with family, friends or new acquaintances along your way try to find rallying points to draw everyone together through your conversation or activities.