Community: The Painful Pleasure

Community is my favorite word to hear and to talk about as of late. Every time I hear it, I get this warm, nostalgic feeling inside that tugs me into a place of desiring more and more of it. It is so special, so intimate, so weighted with meaning.

I think (maybe too much at times) that an interactive community is the opposite of loneliness. I had to "unteach" myself about the subject of loneliness. I am somewhat socially active, so I don't experience this feeling often, but it still knocks gently at my door every once and a while. Sometimes, it even convinces me that I want it. I occasionally find myself thinking that it would be much easier not to deal with people....and all that the word "people" connotes, like emotions, different viewpoints on religion and politics, abandonment. And maybe, to a certain, tangible extent, that is true. But being around others is the only thing that fills that void- that necessity to love and to be loved. So, avoidance is never the answer.

For the most part of the summer, I have had no car, no job....therefore limited money. But the one thing that has remained is community. I have thoroughly enjoyed the people that I've hung around. Some of us really don't have much in common, come to think of it, regarding religion, politics (especially politics), and positions in life, but we still form a group, a community, that sticks together.

I believe God places people around you so that you can love and be loved, disagree and be disagreed with, reconcile and be reconciled with, forgive and be forgiven. This microcosm of community is minutely a reflection of our divine relationship with God. His love remains, no matter what we do. Nothing can separate us from it. Community is the only place where you can learn about yourself, learn of others, and learn of God.

There is nothing wrong with desiring a relationship (I am still a little fuzzy about the topic). However, being in a relationship is not the only way to avoid loneliness. Community is. Being surrounding by people who want to see you prosper in all areas of life. People who encourage you when you are down and reprove you when you are going astray.

We disagree.
We fight.
We hate.

but, you are in my God-given community. And that is all right with me.