Seeking Out Community

Summer is in full swing, and for us Midwesterners that means making the most of the beautiful weather and packing our summer with parties and get-togethers.

Honestly, it can be exhausting — but it’s the best kind of exhausting.

It’s the kind of exhausting where we get a chance to catch up on each other’s lives and have deeper conversations about ourselves and our families and the things that matter most to us.

It seems many of our get-togethers, as of late, have included conversations about the desire to live an intentional life — to not get stuck in the weeds of life, but to live our lives with purpose.

I do not take for granted how special it is to live amongst many other families who feel the call to live intentional lives, and want to support us in our desire to do the same.

Now more than ever, I have begun to look at these men and women and families that we know and thank God that we have so many models of people really trying to live beautiful lives that are rooted in a belief in their mission.

Not only do they recognize their mission, but they also recognize the importance of seeking out community to sustain them in it.

We need each other, and to deny that fundamental truth is to possibly miss out on fulfilling the important work God has for us in this life.

If you ask me, it is kind of amazing that God would entrust us with the important work of bringing souls to Him, of taking part in His greater mission, considering we are all so incredibly flawed.

Most days, I can barely save myself — and yet, God has entrusted me with the care of souls that are so precious to Him.

There is no way an all-knowing God would have entrusted any of us with this mission, if He knew we weren’t capable of it.

God created us for this time and He has given us all that we need.

For some reason, though, He seems to have left us with a few (okay, maybe a lot of) rough edges that still need to be chipped away and smoothed off — until all that amazing-ness (I know, not a real word) can be fully revealed.

More often than not, that smoothing occurs by interacting with others and being challenged to respond with love and respect.

It reminds me of Michelangelo’s David.  

Did you know that Michelangelo was the 3rd person to attempt to sculpt the David out of that enormous block of marble?

Michelangelo saw the flaws in that marble but he also saw the masterpiece inside of it.

He saw it, and he knew his job was to chisel away all those imperfections,  to smooth and to polish, until David was finally revealed.

In many ways, we are meant to be like Michelangelo.  We are meant to see the masterpiece within each person, and to try to help them to slowly reveal that masterpiece to the world around them.

The Catholic Church calls those human masterpieces, Saints, and Saints are made in the context of community.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about this need for community:

The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature.

Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation. (CCC, 1879)

I often look at my older kids who are unhappy with their little siblings yelling or arguing or complaining, and I tell them, “this is a house where Saints are made”.

To be clear, we are not a house of Saints already, but living with each other is a pretty darn amazing way to become a Saint, eventually.

The greatest battles over our own selfishness and flaws are inevitably going to be won by the little victories gained in living with each other in community.

This is especially true for family. It seems in every family God places personalities that help us to grow.

But it is also true for the people we choose to spend our time with outside of family.

The truth is, we all need to be intentional about seeking out a community of people who will support us in our core beliefs and values.

That is not to say we should shun people of different viewpoints and belief systems — but it is to say that we need to have our core community that is going to support us in our goals and vision for our families and communities.

It is also in community life where we can gain momentum and accomplish much more than we could on our own.

The Bible speaks of being “equally yoked”, and it so interesting that an ox can pull 7 times it’s own weight when it pulls a load alone — but that number increases to 17 times it’s combined weight when yoked together with another ox.

In other words, when equally yoked people with similar missions come together, they are exponentially more effective in reaching their goals then they would be on their own.

We live in a culture that encourages individual achievement and becoming a “self-made” man or woman — but the truth is that there is no such thing.

This push towards individualism is a dangerous one.  I have experienced the greatest temptations towards doubt or second-guessing when I have found myself alone or isolated from others.

Conversely, I have experienced even greater resolve to continue in a good thing, when I have sought out the advice of trusted priests and friends in my community and they have said, “Yes, you are absolutely doing the right thing here”.

That simple encouragement from a trusted friend to keep moving forward is all I have needed to stay the course, even when things get difficult.

Even more than that, good community can help us to laugh at ourselves, to find the joy in this life, to correct when necessary and to do more good than we could ever do on our own.

Finding a good community of people will help you to stay the course when times get difficult.  They will shore up your resolve when you grow tired of the battle.

They are also there to provide their own talents and skills to further a common cause — don’t underestimate God’s ability to move powerfully within the context of community.

Jesus told His disciples to go two by two and to establish faith communities wherever they went.

He knew human beings needed community to thrive, and there are countless examples of the great good that has been accomplished throughout the Church when two or more people were gathered together.

The truth is, we can’t do it alone.  God never meant for us to work that way.

The truth is, we need other people to support us in this life, and they need us, too.

Hoping this encourages you to look for community, to pray for it, and to thank God for it when you find it.

If you have found your community, you have found a treasure, indeed.

“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter:
    he that has found one has found a treasure.
 There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend,
    and no scales can measure his excellence.
A faithful friend is an elixir of life;
    and those who fear the Lord will find him.”

~Sirach 6:14-16

 

 

Sharing over at Kelly’s.