HEALTHY HABITS◽ YOU
It may sound like an odd title for a heathy reminder list, but it’s not. It’s a necessary life-giving pill, if you will, but it’s not one you pop. It’s one that takes work and cannot be neglected. Community is connection; and without connection, we die on the vine. However, connection is not always easy to find, easy to maintain, or even easy to experience. But when connection finds us, we just grab hold for dear life, because it will save us…
With Him – Of course, the #1 connection for community is with the Good Shepherd himself. There are so many references in the bible about us being sheep, part of a herd, in need of a leader. And according to Psalm 23, it only requires knowing him as Lord to be in community with Him. That means believing and repenting and acknowledging that we need a Savior, and we want Him to lead us. This connection with him is essential to life.
photo courtesy of Doug Gephardt
With Others – We all fall in and out of different connections over the years. Maybe we had a group of friends and they all moved away, or we left a group we all attended, or any number of reasons left us without friends. And we then made a judgment and a decision that we didn’t need those kinds of friends, so we retreated and had none. No more monkeys jumping on the bed might mean no bruises, but where’s the joy in no jumping? Having friends that pray for us, check on us, and want to be with us is healthy. And we have these kinds of friends by being friendly. Even if we lose sometimes…
With Groups – This might be something we attend, where maybe we don’t necessarily have friends or close connections, but we rub elbows with people who are different…and that’s healthy and good. Only having community with close friends who are just like us makes for a small world. Maybe we attend a church group, or a book club, or an occasional lunch gathering or even a walking group! Groups stretch us, and we all know that stretching is good for the body…and the soul.
With the World – Whether we travel, work out in the workplace, shop often at markets, or wherever we frequent or love to go away from our home…it’s good to have community and connection with these strangers we meet. If we travel, we can meet new friends and even lifelong friends sometimes. Often, surprise connections take us…well…by surprise! Maybe we have a social media account and meet new friends with like interests. Or we visit the same stores and clerks, and they know us by name, now. Away from our safe space into the big unknown to build small connections is a good thing!
With Church – This might be a hot topic these days, because there are so many who have been hurt or stung by unhealthy churches, so the door is shut to this connection for good. When I realized that the church doesn’t exist to meet all of my needs, and that it’s full of people searching just like me (not perfect do-gooders), I found church enjoyable again. Worship is important, and worshiping in community is amazing. Good teaching is out there, when we know the Word ourselves, and connect with the truth of who God is, when we hear it. And sitting next to others in a group with a common goal to know Him is beautiful, even if we are all imperfect, and we are…
Maybe we’ve grown weary of trying to communicate or finding community with others. Perhaps we move around a lot, we’ve been sorely hurt by relationships, or even find it hard to commune with God at the moment. I just read a book that took a look at the end of Psalm 23 where it says goodness and mercy follow me – and it’s literally talking about Goodness and Steadfast Love – literally, Jesus. If we can only find community with Him at the moment because we are a tender sheep in need of being carried, that’s okay. He will lead us to community once again as we follow Him, and it will be nourishing instead of afflicting. He’s good like that.
Community. Don’t write it off. Consider it again. Pray for it. Pursue it. And learn to enjoy it, in a healthy way. Your life depends on it.
And by the way, isn’t a fruit stand so attractive and inviting when it’s full of color, veggies side by side, representing a garden well-tended and grown…in community together?