The Power of Community

Lately, my life has been a bit dry.

Dry seasons stink.

Even my words don’t feel right.

In fact you may have seen that I wrote a post, and then I removed it.

It was what I feel was vulnerable.

Call it fear or call it suspicion, but I don’t feel like my vulnerability translates well into writing. Since the earliest days of my blogging life, I’ve come a long way in the department of vulnerability, but I there are still times when I feel like my vulnerable moments are too sad or are too whiney or are not life-giving, and I wonder about the value of writing them on a blog, when I could just journal these thoughts of mine. Bloggers blog these things all the time, and they are the types of things I love to read, but mine don’t seem to translate well.

Many bloggers say that we all have a message to share. And it is true that we all have a value and purpose to share. But I don’t think we all have a message. And every part of my life does not have to be shared or written down. It is okay to forget some things. Even all of Jesus’s life was not written down. The Bible says there would have been book upon book if it had.

Since I’ve moved into these new space from brownpaperandstrings.com (a dead link) to jamiesampieriharper.com, the writing seems to have withered, and though it is life-giving to me to write, I always want to write words in this public space that bless others, so sometimes I’ve wondered whether I should continue.

I’ve not been in a writing community.

And with all the life drama lately, I’ve not been in a bible study community. My church community is dry. My friend community is dry.

Every two weeks I volunteer in the library. This makes me happy.

And if I am lucky, every two weeks I meet with my accountability partner.

I stink at community. This is no secret.

And I wonder what it is about me that makes people leave me. 🙁 It makes me scared to join community… and sad… that I am made to be an introvert, but maybe I am a lot more extroverted than I or others credit me because it is when the people dry up that I too whither.

But what I have learned is that community is life-giving. I have known what it is to lack community, and so when I am in a community, I treasure it from the depths of my heart.

Yesterday, one of my writer contacts decided to start a writer group on voxer. In the middle of me flopping around, I put myself on the list to be included. I don’t actually know many of the writers, but from the very first vox, listening to others share their ideas, my writer ideas started flowing again.

To be in a writing community gives life to my words, and my writing gives life to me, which helps me give life to my family. This is the power of community.

I suspect this is why the Bible encourages us to be in a church community and to stay connected to the body and the vine. 🙂 We feed one another. Community helps the rivers of life flow in the desert seasons.

So what can you do if you are like me and you lack community?

Treasure the community you have.

Are you in a family, with kids, or a husband, or both? Draw near to them. Do your best not to alienate them. Sometimes this is hard in desert seasons to do. My favorite way to connect with my kids is to read to them at bedtime. When bedtime rolls around, I often want to check out, but reading to my kids encourages us both. My favorite way to connect with my hubby is when we are able to chat over a date or after the kids go to bed. I admit we are struggling with finding ways to connect in this season.

Do you have a job with co-workers? Are you in a group at church? Ask yourself what communities you belong to, and seek to draw closer to them.

Find space in your calendar to join a new group.

Even if you feel quiet or sad or scared or even too busy, find a group to join in doing something that you love. A new group at church. A book club at the library. Keep trying new groups until you have found some people you connect with.

Tell one person you trust how you are feeling.

Having the courage to tell just one person how you are feeling can give you the courage to continue to find a new community and will connect you to that person. Humility produces good things.

Last, but not least, pray, sing praise, and draw near to God.

The Bible says that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8). Often drawing near means repenting, which I think is always important to remember. When my community runs low, the first thing I think is, “Do I owe God or others an apology?” The Bible also says that God inhabits the praises of His people. Know that even if you don’t feel the presence of God with you, He was never left you or forsaken you even if there are times when it feels He has. I notice people sometimes trust their own thoughts and experiences about God over God Himself. Don’t think that your ways are higher than God’s. He loves you. With God, we are always in community, even when we feel blahdidy-blah.

The Bible also says that when we thirst we will be satisfied with living water, and lately, I have had some wonderful times of refreshing with just me and the Lord. If your community is low, maybe God is jealous for you. He is seeking for you to come closer again.

Even though my life feels a little dry lately, actually it is quite full of the presence of the living God, and who can complain of that?

The power of community is that community gives life to you and to those you give life to also, so don’t be like me, join a community. 😉