Community.
It’s one of those words that has almost become more so WR lingo than a word I considered part of my daily vocabulary before the race. Before the race, I thought of it as nothing more than the group of people living or interacting in a given area. Now it has become so, so much more.
To be honest, I kind of thought all of the talk about “community” sounded really new-age-hippie and out of touch when I first heard about it. It just isn’t how we do things in the States; most people move out of their parents home asap, and often live alone or with just one other person after college. We drive to work in our own cars, have our own money, and take care of our own needs.
And believe me, I am not trying to say that everyone needs to move into one huge community home and share toothpaste and shoes and tears and dish duty in order to understand deep relationship. In fact, there have been many times since leaving home that I have desperately wished I could just be ALONE for an hour. I mean, when was the last time you went to the bathroom just to basque in the solitude?
But I am realizing more and more how much this “24/7 daily life with others” thing really does facilitate deep friendship…and an understanding that it is what life is all about.
When TOGETHER…
You have to battle through horrible illness due to a parasite (so glad you are better, love you Tasha!)…
And have screaming arguments over how people aren’t how you expected…
And feel culture shock and homesickness worse than you imagined…
And consider each others hunger and team budget at each meal, and immediately know what people will and won’t eat or share…
And share one bottle of shampoo with 7 other people for a month…
And pick lice out of each other’s hair…
And sit under the stars and talk and pray through a dry and confusing season (love you Helena)…
And understand who needs to be left alone at certain hours of the day…
And discuss symptoms of food poisoning in excruciating detail…
And talk about the human need for faith and understanding of life that only God can give (love you Pat)…
And cry on each others shoulders when we are powerless to help with problems at home…
And preach sermons and give testimonies for the first time…
And see devastating poverty alongside one another…
And calm and pray for each other when on the verge of mental breakdown in the middle of ministry in the slums (love you Becki)...
And watch team time evolve from being a complete drudgery to being hilarious…
And hear and understand that everyone’s story has heartache that we can help each other heal from, even when we don’t realize it until we start talking (love you Caitlin)…
And pray for each other as we begin to make serious, life-changing commitments in our walk with Christ (love you Travis)…
And look at someone you barely knew three months ago and know what they are thinking from across the room…
…You just begin to develop a love, attachment, and understanding that you never saw coming.
God created us to experience life together, and we thrive when we do. Think about it. All of our deepest relationships and most meaningful memories come from experiencing life WITH others, and NOT when we are alone or isolated. In the book of Acts, chapter 2:44-47, the early church worked together to constantly meet the physical and spiritual needs of one another, and grew abundantly in doing so. It is hard to figure out exactly how this can look in modern-day American culture, but I think life is so much more satisfying when we do.
Two days ago, our squad experienced team changes for the first time on the race, and it caught us all off guard how upset we were to be leaving the team that had become family. I absolutely love my Team Tharros, and it surprised us how attached we had become by the end of month three when month one had so many struggles. They will all always hold a special place in my heart as the people that stood alongside me through the first three months of this incredible year of my life. And although goodbye was hard…horrible, tearful, and scary, actually…I know that it is because I have seen how deep and meaningful our relationships really have become, through the good and the bad.
So here’s to Team Tharros, who will be one of the biggest reasons I go home changed for the better. No amount of time, distance, or change can take what we had. Love you all, always.
