Hi my name is Madison and I’m an individualist.
I live in an individualistic culture. I find happiness and comfort in my independence. I love being able to complete a task on my own and have the satisfaction of completion. Though I consistently love to be with and near people, when it comes to taking care of me, I prefer to do so on my own.
Being in Thailand with a people group living in a collectivistic culture is strange. It is highly unfamiliar and almost challenging. People look after each other. They work together to accomplish a task. And they have more peace as a people group than I have ever seen. (They don’t honk at each other on the roads… EVER)
Living in Biblical community is like that. We look after each other. We carry each other’s burdens. When there is a task at hand to complete, we work together to do so utilizing each person’s gifts. We have peace with one another. It’s a beautiful yet challenging thing.
The past couple of weeks, the Lord has challenged me to step from my comfort zone in the aspect of community. I typically walk a dangerous line between independence and weary loneliness. I surround myself with people but do not let them in past my safety nets. I keep people at the distance so they can’t quite see my messy parts. But the beauty of community is that there’s so much beyond the safety nets.
Jesus is tearing down my walls. He is inviting me to not only add to but also take away goodness from my biblical community.
Being able to practice that this month has blessed me more immensely than imaginable. Our common ground is Jesus. We have found freedom in Him. And He invites us as a whole body to tell the nations of the JOYS found in being a part of his family. How sweet.
