Dear church R,
It occurred to me today, as I’m sure it’s occurred to all of you many times as well, that this isn’t normal. What we have is completely unique. It’s not this normal to be this close to thirty three plus people. It’s strange to wake up with anywhere from three to twenty five roommates. It’s abnormal to be constantly surrounded by amazing friends. It’s unusual to spend an entire day at a coffee shop and to go visit volcanoes in your free time. It’s weird to have teams and to laugh as a group as we do we do manual labor. This isn’t normal, but it’s our normal, and it’s beautiful.
What a sad thought that our normal can only last for two more months. Then what? Who knows how many of you I will see again. We’re all going to go our own ways, following God’s unique call on our hearts. For many of us the future is completely uncertain. Who knows where each of us will find ourselves in a year, five years, or ten years. We will most likely never find a normal like this again.
We’ve been with each other through the highs and lows. Some people have of course been closer than others, but we’ve all been there. We’ve walked through suffocating homesickness and spiritual warfare together. As a squad we’ve fought apathy, bitterness, and exhaustion. As many of us hit our low points in Costa Rica, we gathered together to pray for each other. We pulled each other through the “B zone.” We listened to each others struggles and encouraged each other. We celebrated each other’s breakthroughs. We worshiped together in times of great happiness and in times of sadness. We told each other our victories and we rejoiced in them. We went from casual conversations to unashamed familiarity.
I’ll admit there were times all of you drove me crazy. Times I was absolutely fed up of being around people twenty-four-seven. Still, I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the hard moments were worth it. At first, I just wanted to be able to go places on my own, without the buddy system being enforced on me, but now I always enjoy going places with others and sharing a good time. I look around and laugh at our shenanigans. When I’m sad or struggling I know I can always find someone to talk to. Although I doubted it at times, our squad truly fights for each other. Though our church, like any other church, has its faults, you all have taught me what it looks like to actually be the body of Christ.
Now the question is, how we make the most of these last two months? I know home is just around the corner, constantly in our thoughts, but we are here now, and not for long. I will never forget any of you, or these experiences we’ve shared together. I’m going to keep giving my all and choosing our community, even when I don’t have to. I’m not letting these the time we have left slip by without meaning or laughter.
So here’s to three minute showers, everyone’s stuff everywhere, crowded kitchens, coffee shop outings, adventure days, late night conversations, people praying with you when you are sad, Monday night worship, bunk beds, people waking you up, morning quiet times, ubering everywhere, six pm curfew, and everything we have come find normal. Let’s enjoy these weird little things we may never have again. Let’s cherish our normal. Thanks for it all church R. It’s going to be a good couple months.
~ Love Anna
