God never ceases to blow my mind. He has blessed me to be in community with so many beautiful brothers and sisters.
He began to teach me about community at such a young age, but I’m not fully getting it until now… 20 some odd years later.
I grew up in a Christian home and attended church and had a core group of girls that guided me along the way. I then went to college 2000+ miles away from home and was blessed by living with God fearing women who are going to change the world. I am a part of a small group at the Church at Brook Hills, and we actually do life together.
But it is so easy to love your friends. To love those who first loved you. To love those who you have gotten to know over the years. But what about complete strangers?
As soon as I got to training camp, I was loved by everyone I met. I kinda took the long way to get there. ( I thought that camp was in Gainsville, GA, but it was really in White, Ga; just a difference of about 3 hours.) Honestly, I thought I was gonna be reprimanded for showing up to camp late; but instead I was embraced and just heard, “We’re so glad you are here” and “Welcome to camp”. Perfectly good strangers were helping me carry my sleeping bag and pillow. Since I had gotten to camp late, we just put my stuff in a cabin, and I was going to get it later. Well, later came, and I couldn’t remember what cabin it was in. (This probably does not surprise most of you who know me). So I asked for help, and Shannon, just offered to help me find Dina, the girl who showed me the cabin. Since I came to camp with out a tent-expecting to borrow one from a squadmate- that I hadn’t met,and had no idea how to pick her out from a group of 200 people, and honestly, didn’t know her name-I had no where to sleep. I felt so lost, confused, flustered, hopeless; but Merridith, a girl I just met, who is on my squad offered to share hers with me. Bless her! The next day, I showed up to breakfast with out my water bottle-cause I had left it in my car, and a girl I didn’t know, she wasn’t even on my squad had an extra and said I could borrow it. Bless her!
As I wrote this little blog, God showed me that He is Sovereign over itunes and started playing the song, “We are the Body”:
we are the body of the most high
we are the bride of a savior
and we fall for the king of the kingdom
as we sing the songs of salvation
and we stand for those who cannot
stand for themselves
and we love the loveless
and we go where your light’s not shining
we are the body of Christ
we shine like a city on a hilltop
we boast in the spirit living in us
and we march on a road leading to freedom
as we reach out our hands to the fallen
and we bring living water to the thirsty
and we live for the one who was
and is and is to come
so our life counts for something
greater than ourself
we are the body of Christ
and our anthem will be
a song of praise to the king
he is worthy he is worthy
with one voice we will sing
where o death is your sting
He is Mighty He is Mighty.
The Body took care of me this weekend, from sharing their tent with me, to just picking up my pen when I dropped it. BUT, even more important than me, I am so stinkin excited for what the Body is going to do in January. We are going to “stand for those who cannot stand for themselves” and we are going to “love the loveless” and we are going “where your light’s not shining”. WE ARE GOING TO “MARCH ON A ROAD LEADING TO FREEDOM”!
So yes, Lord thank you for your Body, that has taken care of me and that continuously reminds me of Your love and Your Son. But Your Body is so much bigger than our little social clubs that we have turned it into. Forgive us, for that, Lord. We are so thankful for this opportunity to go to the darkest places in the world so that “our life counts for something greater than ourselves” and to bring more people into you kingdom, so that they too, can say that they are a part of the Body of Christ.
