Silently, I walked briskly alone down a street in Grigoriopol, Moldova. I've never been someone afraid of the dark, but as I listened to the music flooding from my iPod, fear crept over me.
I was walking alone down a street with no lights at night in a country known for sex trafficking. And for the first time on the race I was scared for my safety.
How I ended up alone on that street is another story in itself. Regardless there I was all alone. Walking angry and frustrated, I thought I had been left behind. As I dodged puddles of cold water, fear engulfed me as I saw none of my teammates up ahead.
I walked quietly praying God would make me invisible; only visible to Him.
I calmed down as a revelation flooded me. This is why community is so important. Weird revelation right? Just keep tracking me for a moment…
Just last night I was walking this same street, laughing with my sisters as we dodged puddles and sang. The only fear I had was losing my footing or stepping in a puddle. My anger or frustration at them faded as I just wished they were walking alongside me.
This is why God gave us a need, a desire, a love for others' companionship. So we don't have to walk down the scary road alone. How can you walk in freedom when you are afraid of your next step. That your next step might lead to some unknown man waiting to sell you for who knows what (specific fear from that night).
You can't. You can't walk in freedom when you're scared.
I tried for so long to have a healthy, intimate relationship with God by myself. Only to drown in the darkness of my past or the inadequacies I felt. Only in the last two years when I have had the blessing of Christian fellowship has my relationship with God truly developed, truly matured. When you walk with others' who are headed in the same direction, you get to encourage and be encouraged by fellow travelers.
And now I get to walk out of the muck and chains I've drudged around for so long. Because I have people around me showing me that fear of living, really living, is not part of who I was created to be.
"If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us of all sin." [1 John 1:7]
