Find Community

If you read my blog post from last week, I'll give you a quick follow-up.  My breast biopsy came back benign.  Praise God for good news!  I was prepared for good or bad, and at peace no matter what the results were, but it sure was a relief to hear that everything was okay.  But I can't help but think about those who don't receive good news.  We are all just one step away from getting bad news.  If you have been on the receiving end of test results you were not hoping for, I am praying for you and your journey.  

Now, onto this week's topic of finding community....

As an introvert, I love me some alone time.  I love my early morning routine where I am alone in my thoughts, I love a long solo run to listen to music or a podcast, I love walking my dog, I love shopping the isles of Target alone with a Starbucks cup in my hand... I enjoy being alone.  It doesn't bother me.  I sometimes prefer it.  

But we were not created to always do life alone.  God didn't create us to be alone, but to be in community with others.  We were made to connect with others, love and support others and learn from others.  

When we are not filling our cup with sweet friendships, mentorships, or a community that shares common interests and goals,  our cup runs out and has nothing to spill out to others.  We start to feel empty.  

We need community, and this can look like a lot of different things.  We can find a community of friends at work.  After all, we spend the majority of our day with the people we work with.  Those connections matter.  It might look like a small group of friends that we do life with, go out to eat with, invite over to the house, throw baby showers for, go on trips with, group text with, support each other in good times and bad.  We don't need a lot of friends, but we do need a few really good friends that we can be vulnerable with, depend on, and connect with on a regular basis.  We can find community at church and the places we serve.  We can find community through fitness, like a cross-fit group, bootcamp, or a running group.  There are support groups, hobby groups, service groups, travel groups, dog training groups.  There are morning walkers, birthday lunch clubs, book clubs, gardening clubs.  Opportunities for community are everywhere we look.  Online community also exists.  Sometimes the people and groups we follow, interact with online, consider mentors and friends serve as community.  But, don't just rely on those online interactions for community, as in-person interactions do so much more for us when it comes to filling our cup.

I have been blessed over the years to have a group of friends who are like family.  I don't have tons of friends, but I do have some really amazing ones that I know I can count on.  I have also found community at church, through running, at work, and online.

1Thessalonians 5:11 says "therefore encourage one another and build each other up."

Don't go through life alone.  Find community.  Invest in your friendships.  Find groups with common interests and goals.  Find people to grow with.  Do life with people who inspire you, encourage you, and support you.  We were made for more.

Have a great week!  ~Allison