Starving for Community
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1
No man is an island. God has been showing me the importance of community recently. I am the girl who spent her whole life going to small churches so when I switched to Calvary Murrieta I was a bit overwhelmed. To make matters worse over the past seven years I have been out of country more than in the country. There is definitely nothing lonelier than feeling alone in a large group. Even though I loved my church and its commitment to the word and missions I was struggling every time I came home for furlough. I was in a community feeling isolated in the midst of it through nobody's fault but my own. However this extended furlough has changed things. About a year ago my friend Christy asked me to help in the Special Needs Sunday school class. These especially special “kids” teach me a lot more than I could ever teach them. They inspire me in their friendliness, their delight in the small things and their triumphs over struggles as unique as they are.
Later on I got involved in the woman's Bible study that adopted me as their missionary. Each of our women’s bible study groups at church adopt a missionary woman to pray for and encourage. We have journeyed through the book of Acts with Paul and got to witness God's great work on behalf of his fledgling church. We learned that the same God who worked miracles (flames of fire, jailbreaks, rescues and healings) is the same God that walks hand in hand with us each day. I am so thankful for these ladies who have been such an encouragement to me through their prayers and insights into the word of God.
Recently God brought around to be an awesome Care Team. I get a bit weepy when I think of them honestly. As the front line infantry we missionaries, I have learned, are unwise to go out without a proper logistics team behind us. I found this to be true when I last came back from the Philippines in a real state of burnout. Many of you reading this support me a great deal with your prayers, encouragement, hosting and financial partnerships. I am thankful for you as well as my super awesome epic special forces Care Team that stands behind me as I go.
Part of the reverse culture shock I deal with coming back to the States is being bereft of community. To speak plainly we are too wealthy to need the interdependency of community. In places where you live with extreme poverty you see that community is necessary for survival. You will often find the most generous among those who can least afford to be generous.
Later on I got involved in the woman's Bible study that adopted me as their missionary. Each of our women’s bible study groups at church adopt a missionary woman to pray for and encourage. We have journeyed through the book of Acts with Paul and got to witness God's great work on behalf of his fledgling church. We learned that the same God who worked miracles (flames of fire, jailbreaks, rescues and healings) is the same God that walks hand in hand with us each day. I am so thankful for these ladies who have been such an encouragement to me through their prayers and insights into the word of God.
Recently God brought around to be an awesome Care Team. I get a bit weepy when I think of them honestly. As the front line infantry we missionaries, I have learned, are unwise to go out without a proper logistics team behind us. I found this to be true when I last came back from the Philippines in a real state of burnout. Many of you reading this support me a great deal with your prayers, encouragement, hosting and financial partnerships. I am thankful for you as well as my super awesome epic special forces Care Team that stands behind me as I go.
Part of the reverse culture shock I deal with coming back to the States is being bereft of community. To speak plainly we are too wealthy to need the interdependency of community. In places where you live with extreme poverty you see that community is necessary for survival. You will often find the most generous among those who can least afford to be generous.
You will often find the most generous among those who can least afford to be generous.
To speak plainly we are too wealthy to need the interdependency of community. In places where you live with extreme poverty you see that community is necessary for survival. Just because it isn't normal in our independent self-sufficient American culture doesn't mean that we are not all in desperate need of community. In developing countries the signs of a severely malnourished belly are obvious with disease, skin issues, visible ribs and stomachs bloated from worms. However do we see the signs of severely malnourished souls in ourselves, our families, our churches? It’s there. We are surrounded by soul’s starving for the love of God as demonstrated through an interdependent Christ like community. If you are finding yourself bereft of community get off of the pew and get involved. Give of yourself and be willing to receive from others. Reach out a hand to those lonely in your midst. That's how God created us to exist. No. Not just to exist but to thrive! We need each other. We need community.
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