Together

My mother has told me that my first word was, "why," and my first sentence was, "What's that?"  Needless to say, I was full of questions.  Still am, tho I wonder sometimes (See?!) if it is so that I can gather information or just so I can be "right."  Either way, on this blog I have asked many questions, found some answers, but uncovered even more questions.  Like, What's it all about?

I still don't know what it's ALL about, but I do know what chunks of this puzzle may be.  As I considered my last post with friends, both face to face and online, it seems that community is one of those chunks.

I have been blessed, not just with grace, but with an amazing group of women around me.  It would be easy to downplay the significance, yet I know how lonely life can be without people to walk alongside you.  Altho my mind wastes time gnawing on the "big" questions, I find God has a way of keeping me grounded.  While I wonder what I should do with my life, who God has made me, why I have been so blessed, a woman calls.  This woman calls because her husband has taken off for the weekend with all their money (unfortunately a few women have made this call lately).  This woman calls to talk about her fears about changing jobs.  This woman calls to celebrate her success in school.  This woman calls to let out her sadness at the state she knows some children must live in and the pain of their childhood.  This woman calls to say she misses me.

This tribe of vibrant women is the community that surrounds me.  Within this community, I am needed, as much as I need it.  I am mentored, and I mentor.  I love, and I am loved.  But that brings me back to the puzzle.

If the church doesn't notice me, if I can sneak in and slip out without anyone even knowing my name, does it matter? 

I think it does.  Frankly, I don't want to punch some heavenly time card.  God deserves more than that.  I want to be useful and to be part of.  Maybe that is why the church is the BODY of Christ and not BODIES?

Community, doing life together, not only wards off the chill of loneliness, but it gives us reassurance and encouragement when things seem difficult.  Knowing someone is cheering for me helps me to persevere when I am exhausted.  And I don't think that cloud of witnesses has to be a bunch of dead saints.  Live ones do even better since I can hear their shouts, feel their hugs, and receive their suggestions.  This is a gift, not a weekly obligation.

But, how to get there....

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