Finding Community

I’ve been thinking about community a lot the past few days.  I crave community, but beyond that I need community.  We all need community to different degrees.

I love being in those big groups with common shared experiences.  

I went to the big Oprah’s 24th Season bash on Michigan Ave with the Black Eyed Peas Flashmob – just to say I was part of it.  

 Or to a Stanley Cup parade, because how often do you get to do that? (This photo cannot show how stinkin' hot it was that day!)

I love being one-on-one with a girlfriend sharing the mundane and the Holy work of God.

I just read Stefanie’s UpLIFTing Words about 5 reasons why she chooses community.  You know what?  We all have different reasons why we need this.  We all have different reasons for why we avoid it or don’t make it a priority.  A good one to throw out there is that it is WORK!  After all the houseWORK, yardWORK, schoolWORK, and even work WORK – who has the time or the energy for more of it?  It begins by making that conscious decision that it is worth it.

We aren’t called to be Lone Rangers in this world.

I went to my first Community Bible Study Tuesday morning.  I was one of about 40 newbies to this collection of 400 women all wanting to study and grow in God’s word – in COMMUNITY.  I’ll be placed in a much smaller group of women that will allow relationships to form.  I planted to seeds and I will have to tend to them to see them bear fruit.

I’ve also found ways to build other communities online.  One, is a super surprise secret that I can’t tell you about for a few more weeks.  You’ll have to just sit tight for that one.  But there are others.  The blogosphere is teeming with amazing women that share my heart song.  Twitter has connected me to amazing women on the other side of the country and the other side of my county.  Facebook has introduced me to people I grew up 20 minutes away from, but have just found yesterday!  That is not an exaggeration, literally yesterday.

Allume is building a community for me that will let me have girls’ night out for 3 nights in a row in just over a month.  There aren’t enough hash tags or emoticons in the world to express my excitement over that.

 

Tonight I’m going to hang out with my #FMFparty girlfriends starting at about 9:30 Eastern Time until I have to hit the hay.  Those west of me and the night owls will wait for Lisa-Jo’s prompt for Five Minute Friday.  They will then pour out blessings for me and you through their keyboards and have them ready to greet me in the morning.  I’ll read their words, be encouraged and send them on to others (after I’ve written my own).

I encourage you to strike out and start making your own community.  There are so many ways to do it now.  You never know who you might meet along the way.  I can tell you this.  If you are meeting with one or two others who share your faith and love for the Lord – you will meet Jesus there.  That’s pretty good company – as good as it gets, actually.  It’s worth the work.

Where are you finding unexpected community?  What is community doing in your life right now?

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.  Matthew 18:20