Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of M.C.ing the talent show at our church called "Oakhurst's Got Talent." It is still on my mind today. This evening was a lot of fun. It was an excellent fit for our church community, an opportunity for everyone to come together outside of typical church experience. 

This church has been a big part of my life here in Atlanta. It's helped to give me spiritual direction, solace, and a place to exercise my faith with like-minded people. 

When I was a child, I spent a lot of time at church. I remember putting on suits and sitting in church pews with my brother and others wearing our Sunday best clothes. That history played a considerable part in who I am now. This church, Oakhurst Presbyterian, in my adulthood, is very different from what I experienced as a child. We still sit in pews, but Sunday best suits are not as common. What is similar is the feeling of community. 

Coming together to do this talent show was such a joy. It was a pleasure to see so many people play instruments, dance, tell jokes, and sing. We finished the show with a group of us singing, "Seasons of Love" from the Broadway musical, "Rent." The musical Rent is a product of the 90s, a time when the AIDs epidemic was at its worst. Several characters in the show are HIV-positive or have AIDs. My brother Jim had AIDs. As we sang this song, I thought of how Jim and so many others who had AIDs were robbed. They were robbed of daylight, sunsets, midnights, and cups of coffee — all things I now take for granted. 

I thought about the lyrics of the song. It asks a straightforward question. It asks how do we measure our lives? Do we do it with laughter? This talent show was an excellent opportunity to mark our time together with laughter. In the show, we had dad jokes, witty poems, magic tricks, and unexpected moments of audience participation. The song also recognizes we can measure our lives in strife, something many of us know too well. 

Finally, we can measure our lives with love, the love I have for my brother, and the love I have for this faith community.

Measure in Love, Seasons of Love.