Community

So recently in my Creative Communications class, I was told I needed to give a topic-based speech. First thing that came to mind was (drum-roll please).....COMMUNITY!
Community is something that I found myself struggling with this past year, so it only seemed fitting to share about how God's brought me to a place of desperately grabbing hold of community.

Growing up in a close-knit Christian home there were several things I was obsessed with. One of those was playing house (don't lie....you know you loved it too). I would always play the momma of course, just because I liked to tell people what to do. From a very young age...I displayed a lot of leadership skills...or so I like to think :) Well I said all that to say, I embraced my little community! Things began to change as I grew up, I began to battle with various auto-immune issues and I was left feeling alone. Starting from that point, I began to distance myself because I felt like no one understood me, that nobody knew what it was like to suffer. Fast forward 6 years to when I finally got to college. Good ol' William Jessup University. WJU is a small community, but a very genuine and real one. During my first year there (sophomore year) basketball was absolutely amazing...I was predicted to get "Newcomer of the Year" and had the potential of being one of the best guards to come out of there. However, 5 games before the season was over, I tragically tore my ACL and meniscus. I distanced myself once again. I was broken and hurt. I rehabbed hard over the summer and once season rolled around my game wasn't the same, which only led me to disconnect from my team. 

I like to think of community as the huge thick rope comprised of a bunch of smaller ropes intertwined together....each time I came up against a tough situation I would distance myself and was cutting those small ropes. Obviously, at the moment it doesn't seem like a big deal...but after a while the rope begins to get smaller and smaller until it's no longer connected. 

Ok, back to my story. Finally senior year rolled around and I was so excited to have the best year yet. Unfortunately, I started having ankle issues, but I wasn't going to let anything stop me. Eventually it got worse and I was told that I needed surgery to repair my torn ligaments. Talk about the best senior year ever....but something was different this time. I felt the urge to lean upon those around. For once I didn't feel the need to isolate myself, but rather desired to be in a community to support me.

You see friends, I believe that the enemy wants us to feel alone and isolated. In order for the enemy to lead you into the wrong place, he must first make you feel isolated. He clearly hates any type of healthy community, hence why he seeks division and attempts to fracture relationships. Because he knows when you're alone, he can mess with your mind. He speaks lies...we listen to them.

I'd like to share with you a few reasons of why I believe community is vital!

1.     To Grow: in the Bible it talks about iron sharpening iron. We need this community to thrive. Jesus and his disciples ate together, experienced life together. Another key reason is accountability...this is huge in growth, people are there to call you out.

2.     To Serve: God has given each of us different gifts, abilities, and skills to glorify Him and serve those around us.  By living in community we can discuss or passions, test our gifts, be encouraged, counseled, and be prayed for.

3.     To Heal: a huge part in healing and allowing God to work within those broken pieces is being vulnerable and transparent with others. Being in community allows us to heal and process even the deepest parts of us.

I hear the Lord most when its late at night and I’m laying in my bed…one night my roommate and I were talking. And I felt like the Lord gave me a great analogy for myself.

--So imagine with me a flawless face. All of the sudden a bacterial infection begins to develop….it begins to spread. Obviously you don’t want anyone to see it. You’re embarrassed…it looks gross and you’re scared of what people might think about you. So you cover it up with makeup…foundation. Then you begin to notice its getting worse and it gets harder and harder to cover up. I believe that the only way for this infection to heal it to let it breath, to stop covering it up and just be your raw self...flaws in all. This is community…this is being vulnerable and allowing others to see you. Yes, you may feel uncomfortable and yes you may feel ugly and gross, but this is the only way that God can work on us. He takes those broken pieces and makes something beautiful out of us.

Just like when I was a child and loved playing house and being in community…I believe that is just as much applicable today. The Lord wants to take us back to when we had child-like faith and completely embrace everything he has for us. Community.

So I want to encourage you all to embrace whatever community God has placed before you…recognize it will not always be glamorous, but trust that God will work within you and that through community, the very fiber of our beings will begin to look more like Christ.