Life Together: Community and Friendship
What a month September has been! As I arrived at the park on Sunday, September 3rd, for our first fellows picnic, butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I looked around at the other fellows, and my mind buzzed with thoughts and questions:
Well, this is it! I’m here. I wonder if I’m in the right place. What are these people like? Will we be friends? How is this year going to go? I hope they like me.
I’m sure that some of these same thoughts were racing around in the other fellows’ minds as well. It can be both exciting and nerve-wracking to show up in a new place, in a new phase of life, with seven other people (and an entire church congregation) waiting to meet you. Even for me, a Greensboro native, this season felt like a huge transition. I kept thinking, There’s so much to figure out, and I can’t do it by myself.
Once we arrived at Ocean Isle, however, my mind began to settle. We fell into an easy rhythm of talking and laughing, cooking meals and playing evening games of Tellustrations. We shared our hopes for the year, our childhood nicknames, our deep questions and our favorite songs. I was still a bit nervous about all of the changes that were happening, but I realized that I wasn’t alone. There were five other people who were new to all of this as well, and two amazing directors who were willing to support us. No matter what we were doing, we were in it together.
As we discussed the book Life Together (there’s that word again!), which was part of our summer reading, it struck me that community is an integral part of the Christian faith. God didn’t leave us to stumble through life by ourselves; He gave us other people to spend our time with, other people to pray with, other people to lean on and to point us to Him. We can’t do everything alone, and we don’t have to. This reality has been an immense comfort to me, especially as someone who needs the physical assistance of others in my day-to-day life. My need for help is not a weakness; God designed us all to need community.
“How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity.” Psalm 133:1
In the past month, God has shown me countless examples of what this community looks like. Weekly dinners cooked by members of the congregation; encouraging chats with my mentor and host family; rides from those who take their time to drive me to and fro; and thoughtful, sweet, and hilarious conversations with the other fellows have all served as beautiful reminders of God’s grace and kindness towards me. I could not be more thankful for the relationships that have already started to grow, and the other fellows; and I can’t wait to meet more of the people at Church of the Redeemer.
Thank you all for your love and prayers!
-Calley