Community

My whole life I have never lived in one house for more than six years. My Dad never had a strong relationship with his family so neither did I. My Mom had a small family and although I had many siblings, nieces, etc. we are scattered all over Kingdom come. In short, most of my life was spent without community. It’s not that abnormal of a concept in today’s society. Nuclear families are less common and having a relationship with your extended family is a blessing, but not something everyone gets to have.

After I graduated college and my Mom was diagnosed with cancer, and my Dad had a stroke, I realized just how much I was lacking without community. Aside from my husband and brother, who eventually got so disaster fatigued themselves they could not longer bare my personal pain, I had no one to share these new burdens and heartbreaks with. It drove me to point of suicide.

I learned a lot at that time. Chiefly, that God is everything I need. When I have nothing, and no one, I can lean on Him. I became so agoraphobic and depressed that I could barely get up every morning. It was God, and God alone, who rescued me from that horrible state. Despite my fear, God challenged and helped me by gently leading me to a community of fellow believers who could love and support me. It was not easy. I was so broken, and my new community struggled to understand where all this pain and strangeness was coming from. Still, over time, God helped me heal and He used community to do it.

There is value in living your daily life with fellow believers. When you all work together for God’s glory you can find love, compassion, hope, joy, and peace. Having others to lean on encourages you that despite the fact that the world is a dark and twisted place, God is at work shining His light into the darkness. He saves people through the atoning work of Jesus. He can save you, too and provide a community. A place of rest for the weary travelers of this world.