After I found Jesus around five years ago I began learning one of the hardest lessons I had ever learned up to that point; Community is important. Building relationships and being in community is one of the toughest, ugliest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever been a part of. There are times that I’d rather avoid it and deal with myself than worry about others. But the more I learn about Jesus and grow closer to him I see the value of being with other people.
Community means dwelling in unity. And it feels like most of the time this just isn’t the case. But over the years I have been privileged to have special people come into my life and teach me so much more about Jesus than I ever could’ve on my own. This post is pretty much a tribute to those people and the lessons that they have blessed me with.
These two right here…I could literally give a standing ovation for the amount of love and patience they have shown me. This picture was taken on Janie’s (the one in the middle) wedding day. Taylor (the one on the right) and I were both blessed on this day to be part of the ceremony as Janie’s Maids of Honor. I’ve known these two for three years now and they blow me away by how easily they forgive, love, and keep me accountable. Between the two of these ladies the Lord has sent me a community that has soften my rough edges and taught me to be more patient towards and love people a ton better than I would’ve without them.
Some of the coolest lessons I have learned during my time in college have been because of these guys right here. These are my Boatman Boys (not all of them pictured). Because of their willingness to surround me as brothers and tell me the truth even when it was hard, I’ve been able to see what a real man of Christ looks like.
The relationships that have influenced me the most is obviously my family. My mom and brother are probably the strongest people I know. Through some extremely tough trials, like finding out about my mom’s cancer, we’ve stayed together and these two have always encouraged me to keep pushing through. They’ve seen me start to crack plenty of times but they don’t even flinch as they move to keep me strong and whole.
I could honestly put about hundred more pictures on here of so many different people and write all the sappy posts. And it would all be real because I am beyond thankful for the all the people the Lord has brought into my life to teach me new lessons and see different perspectives. And it’s for that reason I am so excited to go on the World Race. The hundreds of new people that I am going to meet and new perspectives I am going to gain during this journey are going to be so unreal. And I know it’s going to get messy and it wont be easy. But I also know that it will be so worth it and because of those relationships I will be able to better see Jesus.
