Community

It’s been a really rough week for K-man.  As things are unfolding I am wondering why some people are so set on denying that they need people.  I get wanting to be independent, I have a very independent streak, but one thing I have learned the hard way is that I need my people.

I need my family.  Not just the tribe I have spent the last 25 years producing, but the parents that raised me.  I need my aunts and uncles and cousins that remind me where I have come from.  I need the people I grew up with who know exactly where I have come from and aren’t afraid to remind me on social media, which makes me feel very known and loved.  Yes, I’m thankful for Facebook, and thankful that it wasn’t around when I was in middle school.  I need my church community who is committed to doing good deeds and keeping people’s ox out of ditches.  I need the larger community of God’s people who have sat next to me on airplanes and given me peace.  They have met me on all my travels and reminded me that God does indeed have a church universal and I am so grateful to be a member of it.  I need my community of neighbors that do life with me everyday.  The people who hold my hand when I have medical procedures done.  The people who smile and help me get my groceries from the store to my car.  The people who call my husband when my tire looks low as I drive around town.  The people who get my kids from one event to the next sometimes without me even realizing it.

We all need people.  Sometimes it takes some very intentional decisions to keep the people we really want to see in our community.  We don’t always get to choose who are people are.  We pop into this world with people waiting for us who we didn’t choose.  We often move into homes with neighbors we have never met.  There are times for us to decide where we are going to be and with who.  I have been encouraging my children to think about who they want to be with when deciding which school to go to, which job to accept, which person to date, what team to play on.  Each of these decisions means a group of people.  I want my kids to understand that they need people in their lives.  They are blessed to have people who watch out for them and get up in their business from time to time.  Their people care about their health and their happiness.  It has been very gratifying to see them choose to stay connected with their family, with their friends, with their church, with their broader community of people that God has brought into our lives.  I have had people question some of our decisions, which is good, questions make me settle on answers.  If my kids choose to change directions because they realize they love their family and want to stay close, well I think that’s awesome and I will support them all the way.  Sometimes those decisions are painful and uncertain, I am hoping they prove to be for the best in the long run.

Hold on to your people.  Lean in.  When things start to feel lonely or scary grab on to a hand.  God is with you, always, and sometimes he gives you people to walk with you for a season or for a lifetime. Don’t miss out on the blessing of community because you think you have to prove you are strong.  You will be stronger with the right people all around you helping you up and cheering you on.