Community

I was made for community.  I think we all were.  Last week I took a test on FB to see if I am an introvert or an extrovert.  I knew the answer before I took the test.  My answers confirmed that I am very much an introvert.  No surprise there.  But, still I was made for community.

Most of us who have reached the "what now" age are now or have been part of many communities.   Some large, some small.  I spent the weekend in community with my daughter-in-law at The World's Longest Yard Sale. We laughed a lot.  We took pictures of ugly things.  She took pictures of some 8th-grade-boy-humor signs.  She can share those with her e-community herself.  I could have gone by myself.  I would have seen the same things, made the same stops, eaten the same food while picnicking in the car, bought the same things, and spoken in passing to the same people from stop to stop.  But, for me the enjoyment would have been greatly diminished.  Being in community with her is what created the fun.

I would not have survived as successfully the challenges of being a new mother without community.  We called ourselves the Tuna Sandwich Gang.  Pretty much, we were all in the same boat.  Not much money, little kids, no jobs, and seemingly unending time on our hands.  It was great........because of  community.  Weekly, we gathered ourselves, our children, and whatever we had to offer for lunch.  Half a bag of chips, a partial loaf of bread, 1/3 bottle of Coke, or a can of tuna ~ it didn't matter, we shared it.  One member of our group could make a can of tuna stretch like the loaves and fishes.  It was amazing.  The tuna fed us, but the community sustained us.  We do not see each other as regularly now as we did then, but the love and the gratitude for that community will never fade.

Facebook is a community of sorts.  I have connected with many people through FB.  I regularly communicate with people on FB who live far from me.  I have a few FB friends whom I have no idea how I know them, but because we have mutual friends, and they asked to be friends on FB, and my mama taught me never ever to be exculsive I said okay and now we're FB friends.  Most of my FB friends were face-to-face friends long before FB was ever heard of.  Many of them I know from high school.  Some are from the old neighborhood, some from the church where I grew up, some are my former students, some are new friends that I see often.  Some of my FB friends are teachers with whom I work now.  I love my FB community, but it alone could not satisfy my need for community.

Second only to my family, my church family is the most important community in my life. They are who I most want to run to when life gets really tough.  That community consists of myriad people of all ages, ideas, backgrounds, theologies, and viewpoints.  I love them. They are who I call when I need help like the nasty job of picking up our several-hours-dead dog and putting him in the back of the car when my son was not available.  They are who I call when I have joyful news to share.  They are who I called when my daddy was dying.  They who I called when suicide touched our family.  They are who I call when addictions and depression overwhelm those I love.  They are who I called when job loss made finances extremely difficult.  They are who bought us food and a Christmas tree and paid our mortgage for 6 months and prayed and still do pray on their faces at the Father's feet on my children's behalf.  They are who I trust.  They are who reflect Jesus, and they are who help me see Jesus in the faces of those in the margins.  They are who challenge me to live better and love more and be more honest with myself and with them.

I am an introvert.  I need community.

blessings