Open the Door to Community
It’s Friday, so I’m linking with The Gypsy Mama to write for 5 minutes flat—no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking on this week’s word: Community.
GO
Relationships can be so messy, even hurtful.
We want others to like us so much, so we put on a mask of pretense. Then we wonder why they disappear when our true self shows. They don’t know which one of us is the real thing.
No one has a chance to like the real us because we take such pains to hide it.
Funny that while we don’t want to be exposed, we desperately long for relationship, real connections.
But that is how we were created. We were meant to be around others. To connect. God made Adam a helper named Eve because “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).
God Himself is community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And so the longing continues.
And I continue to search.
To search for that soul-baring, heart-sharing connection that is essential to true friendship.
I will keep opening that door, reaching out, and welcoming in.
Because without close community, we’re just a shell of who we could be, a fraction of the person we were created to be.
Without close community, we’re just a shell of who we could be, a fraction of the person we were created to be. Click To Tweet
It’s that important.
STOP
“And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10: 24–25, HCSB).
Reflections: Has it been difficult for you to find soul-baring, heart-sharing relationships? If not, do you have any encouraging words to pass on; if so, what aspect has been most formidable?
By His Grace,
Julie
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Hello, I'm Julie, an imperfect wife and mother of four. Life in this broken world is not always easy. Yet, joy can be found in each day through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it's easy for our day's blessings to get lost in its happenings. But God's "mercies never end" (Lamentations 3:22) and His "grace is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
May the posts and pages on this site offer you a measure of peace and encouragement.
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I think you captured our struggle well to be love and belong, but putting on masks. The thing that struck me most is this, “God Himself is community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Thanks, Susan. It took me awhile to understand that community is an attribute of God as Three-in-One. Since we are made in His image, we are created to reflect a desire for that community/relationships. May you enjoy friendship in community this weekend.
To answer your questions, I find that as long as I stay honest and love people, it’s not that difficult to forge soul-baring, heart-sharing relationships. It’s when I start stonewalling that things go awry, you know?
I know what you mean, Tejas. Being authentic and making ourselves available and vulnerable are essential elements to finding a true community of close relationships. But it is so easy to become fearful, insecure, or just plain lazy and withdraw from relationship. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, I have struggled over the years… it hurtful situations, it’s always easier to think, “I don’t need this…” when the truth is, as you stated, we can’t fully be who we were created to be without community.
Humans can be so nasty in our fallen nature, Natasha. Continue to be brave and pursue relationship. Don’t give up! I truly believe everyone of us has others waiting to love the real us.
It is only when we open ourselves to others, that we can experience the true meaning of community. And this we can do if we trust that we will be welcomed and embraced.
That trust can be difficult to hold onto after we’ve been hurt. But you’re correct, Colline, if we continue to trust despite the heartaches, we will eventually find true community. What a blessing that is!
Friendship/community. Struggles of the heart. My children were the source of all I needed for community until they grew and had their own connections. This is good, this what we want for our children but then what is for us? My church family definitely fills a gap for me but that one on one connection we all need came to me in one true friend that really knows me. This friendship came after many years of sharing the bad and the good in my life. Don’t be afraid to share the bad times as we all have sinned and A short of God’ glory. I guess my
I guess my feel of community is a desire to be loved and accepted by my peers. But with the help of God and many years of sharing, I have been blessed with one true friend (besides my husband). I try to reach out to others but that connection doesn’t grow. I thank God for all my community of friends and Julie, you are truly an inspiration to me. Keep writing!
Thanks for sharing and the encouragement, Linda! I know what you mean about defining our community around our children. I’m still in the midst of that, but I know the difficulties that sets me up for; plus, there is still a vulnerable side of me that needs to be shared yet can’t be with children. So I continue to open that door to relationships, even when I don’t want to make the effort. Because one true friend can make all the difference.
Don’t ever doubt that you are a special person, Linda, a beloved daughter of the King. Keep chasing community. There are others out there looking for someone to relate to–that someone is you!