Recently, I was going through a box of keep sakes. Old thank you notes, pictures, birthday cards. Sentimental little things. I came across this sun faded sign and like a Will Smith song brings you old people back to the 80's, I was flashing back to junior high. = )
In faded maroon and once-plum-purple, folded into thirds, is written the simple words "We love you Leela!" Two of my closest, and goofiest, friends made this sign for me one afternoon when they were hanging out and I was feeling especially blue. They then proceeded to take photos of themselves holding the sign making silly faces, which they promptly emailed to me. Before I moved, I kept this sign hanging on my wall, a constant reminder of the friendship we shared. It is one of the two memories that moves me to tears, even to this day.
The second memory is this: I went with most of my small group and my church to Kansas for my first summer camp. While we were there a junior high boy from a school that some of my friends attended died. I was flooded by memories of my own friend's suicide. Of the hurt and loss. That night, lying in our tents, "sleeping" two of the girls pulled out a flashlight and together we put on an amazing shadow show. This, of course, rendered us into a state of giddiness that, if I remember correctly, ended with us half quacking, half snorting in our sleeping bags.
These girls, along with our other small group mates, were the first to teach me one of the most important lesson I've learned: it's all about community. Things are in perpetual motion. They are always changing. Even our relationships with people will change. But, like the eye of a storm, God provides us with a refuge. A place where the whirlwinds of change surround us and yet we remain untouched. It is within our community. We cannot do life without a community, they carry us when we cannot walk, they laugh with us when all we've left is tears, they lift us up in prayers when we cannot even find the strength to kneel, they love us when we cannot find ourselves worthy of loving. And most importantly, they show us God. They represent his unconditional love, they model His desire for a relationship, and they act as His tools filling our needs. Your community will change, it will grow and shrink, ebb and flow, but do not let it disappear. They are a life line, a modified circle of life and, ultimately, happiness is unachievable without them.
To my first small group: thank you and I love you. = )
No comments:
Post a Comment