If you deer hunt, you have heard the phrase, “Look for signs.” Good hunters walk through the woods constantly looking for where deer bed down, droppings, scraps, paths, natural food sources, water & tracks. If I am traveling down the road looking for a place to eat, I look for signs…pickup trucks.

Long before website ratings of places to eat, there was a fool proof sign for good place to eat that has never let me down. If a cafe has a good number of pickup trucks out front (BJ’s Market Cafe, NLR) go no further. Inside you will find down-home people & good food.

But more than good home cookin,’ you will usually find a round table or tables pushed together with guys sharing stories. This morning was such a time. As we sat together, poking fun, sharing stories as if we were around a campfire, the bond was obvious, these guys enjoyed being together. To the casual observer it may appear we came to eat, but we came for a special time to be together. After we finished eating one of the guys mentioned a health issue with which he was dealing. Without any fanfare guys quietly got up to gather around him to pray. Just ordinary guys boldly living out God’s Word. “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

Each of the men gathered around the tables had other things to do. They could have saved money by eating at home. But they chose to spend the time & money to be together. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

You may say to yourself, “I would not feel comfortable joining the group because they already know each other.” OK, open the contacts on your phone, make some calls, and start a group. The isolation from COVID is over. God designed us for relationships. We have been instructed, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2