As I am plunged into this new and vibrant community, I am reminded of why God holds community, communion, so dear. Without community- without people around us intentionally and adamantly pursuing our hearts and our growth, and people that we in turn can support and love- we cannot experience the true love of Christ.
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1.the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. ~Dictionary.com
Coming from a huge faith community in Seattle where I could hide behind anonymity if I so wished, this experience has been rather jarring. The accountability that comes with a smaller circle of believers has already made me question the decisions that I make and the motives in my heart.
There is no hiding here.
As someone who likes to run away from her problems (California–>Seattle–>California, you get the gist), coming into a place where everyone already knows my name is weird. People can see me here. It reminds me of where I grew up- the smallness that sometimes felt suffocating- and the desire to escape it. Oh, I hid back then. Hiding is so much easier than being known.
But what I’ve found here is not like where I grew up. The community is welcoming, embracing, and loving. I have already felt pursued and reaffirmed that this is where I am supposed to be. I know this place will hold me to a higher standard, and in doing so will bring out the very best in me. That’s what a good community does- stays with you through thick and thin, and helps you hold on when you can no longer do so by yourself.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
The teaching at my new and beloved church yesterday was precisely this: we cannot do this alone. As much as I have cultivated my independence over the last few years, buying into the individualistic culture our society tells us good and right, I know that I was not made for aloneness. Love can only be perfected when it is practiced, and it cannot be practiced alone. We need others to find fulfillment and lasting satisfaction- we will never be happy on our own, because we weren’t created that way. We are made for relationship, first and foremost with Christ, but also with our brothers and and sisters in Christ:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ~Matthew 22:37-39
I never thought I would be living in community again, but God had other plans (as He usually does). I can’t wait to see how He uses this year to continue to shape me into the person He wants me to become, and uses me to speak into the lives of others. I feel utterly privileged and amazed at His providence in my life.
I don’t deserve the incredible people that God has surrounded me with, but I accept them as gifts from the good Giver who sees me, knows me, and loves me.
rhythms of grace 