My Community

We are naturally a people who take things for granted. I saw a sign yesterday that said, "What if we woke up tomorrow with all the things we thanked God for today?". It really made me stop and think. How many things do we really just overlook and not truly appreciate? Far too many. Do we really stop all the time and thank God for this and that? For every little blessing (or big blessing) that He sends our way? In reality, every thing that seems good or bad is a blessing from the hand of God.

My pastor has always (for as long as I've known him) emphasized the importance and the need for community. Simply put...small, strong, well-built, Christian groups. For years I have just taken this for granted, not really thought about it. But especially lately, I have come to see exactly what he has been talking about when he says that one step toward reformation is the building of good communities. My church family is my community...that is where my best friends are, the people who know me best.

We've been going to this church for about 10 years now...these are the people I've grown up alongside of and been taught from. I was about 7 or 8 when I first started attending this church. It is where I was baptized and catechized. I took Sunday School with the kids there, played football, soccer, wiffleball, climbed trees, had parties, contests, and Bible studies with these people. I couldn't even begin to start to list the hundreds of activities that I've done with people there. But most importantly, I learned God there. That started my foundation for belief.

We have church starting at 10am on Sunday morning...it goes until 11:30. Then starting at 11:45 we have Sunday school for 30-45 minutes. We have evening church for an hour at 5 pm, and we usually spend Sundays in fellowship or something that involves one another. During the school year, we have Wednesday classes that usually take up 3-4 hours (not counting homework or tests). Every other Friday we have L'Abri at my Pastor's house where they feed us dinner and we study for an hour or two. On the "off" Fridays we have a young adults' Bible study for a few hours.

Our church is not dead, neither is the determination to grow up these community children in the way they should go. Yes, we mess up...I am the one who has messed up and strayed the farthest, but by God's grace alone I have been brought back from the far country and back under the guidance of my parents and church family. Disciplined and set apart for the glory of God alone.

No matter how much I've strayed in my life, God has always been there and He has always used my church family to guide and direct me. No one has ever been too busy to stop and sit down with me and talk. Maybe this happens to everyone, but my pastor takes time for everyone...he stops and asks how things are. He doesn't forget events that happen in our life, he checks up on them. He asks how work is going. He compliments something you are wearing. He has a smile on and a joke to crack if that is the mood, or he can be dead serious, concerned, and caring if the situation calls for it.

And it's not just him! This is the case with everyone in my church, not excluding my very own family. I've come to realize (took me long enough!) that my family is my BEST friend. They have never left me, never given up on me, never not cared. They love me *so* much, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like it. They want me to succeed, to grow, to achieve, to be the very best. They will push and pull me (even if I don't want to) until I am God's very own and completely dedicated to Him and His will for me.

These are all things that I've really taken advantage over the years. Things I've ignored, or not cared to see. But I see them now...I love my church people, my friends there, my family there...they are my closest confidants: the people I know love me and will never leave me, even in the darkest hour. They've never given up on me. Even when I screwed a lot of things up, they've never treated me like I've failed. I feel like I am running a race...and I totally messed it up...I tripped and I fell and instead of treating me like I fell, they've cheered me on, picked me up, and carried me the rest of the way.

In their eyes, I'm a hero...I'm a champion. Simply because I am called by God. They have strengthened and encouraged me, even if they didn't know what they doing for me. People say that love is not judging. I say that love is gently judging, but always supporting. Supporting the person to get back up and make the right kinds of decisions and turn around in life...turn back to God. So I am thanking God for everyone in my life, who, when I messed up, stood behind me and supported me every step of the way. Those are the friends and people you keep forever. You don't leave them in their darkest hour, you stand with them and help them pick themselves back up.

That is what community looks like. Being there every step. Even if you live a couple hours away from someone that doesn't mean you can't be their "cheering on" person (I don't know a better term for that!). One of my biggest supporters lives an hour away from me...and yet she has been there every step of the way. She prays for me all the time and lifts me up with her encouragement. Those are the people who motivate me to dedicate my life even more fully and truthfully to God. I can only hope and pray that you have a person or some people like that in your life. May God bless you, whoever you are, and gift you with a strong community around you to build you up, support you, and encourage you on to the God of Christ-likeness and a Godly servitude util the day you leave this earth for a better home.