Community…this is a word that my circle of friends and I throw around, discuss, get excited about, and every now and then sigh in a semi frustrated tone (ex: “yes, literally everyone was in my living room playing all the guitars, the piano and singing loudly while I was trying to sleep. Ughh…community.”
A couple nights ago, my community, a group of men and women who are seeking to live their lives in deep relationship and obedience to Jesus, were here in my home. Some were working on homework, some were in one of the rooms having discipleship and a couple who models the love of Jesus in the way they treat one another had the opportunity to just spend the evening together. We aren’t perfect and sometimes we rub each other the wrong way, but over these four years of living a life of pursuing Jesus together, I am blown away by how the Lord has sharpened me and drawn me closer to Him through these beautiful people.
Fast forward to tonight and I am once again sitting with a dear friend, who spent her afternoon shooting an interview with me to help raise support for the world race. We laughed, we cried and we dreamed about this amazing opportunity that God has placed in my life. Through her and people like her, I have seen why community, why the church is an integral part of Jesus reaching the world. Whole relationships, honoring relationships and loving relationships are all reflections of how Jesus interacts with us. These interactions are so attractive to a broken and hurting world! People are drawn to people sacrificing for and loving one another!
So, while I am already grieving leaving this beautiful community, I am so pumped to broaden my understanding of community and to go deeper and deeper still with the men and women that I will be meeting at training camp in three weeks. I am so excited to learn from them, to encourage them and to partner with them in sharing the love of Jesus with the nations!
Here are some pics from my world race fundraising interview that my friend Kaylin Arrington did for me:
Kaylin is an amazing videographer, photographer and musician. Along with all these beautiful gifts that the Lord has given her, she has an amazing heart and says yes to Jesus over and over again!
