Community

Hey everyone, so I decided to talk about community this week because community is an important part of everyone’s live for many reasons. This is going to be a long blog post so make your favorite tea, curl up in a blanket and enjoy what I have to say!  For me personally, community is an important part of my life because growing up I was very shy off and on and my friends helped me to get out of my comfort zone and while I was away at school helped me get used to living away from my family for the first time which honestly was really nice and there are still times that I miss living away from my family because I was able to grow as a person more than I was able to learn with my family and not worry about changing churches all of a sudden. Because growing up my family and I would change churches a lot either because one of my brothers was having behavior issues or my dad didn’t like the church so when I was 19 or 20 my friend Chelsea and I started to go to Des Moines salt company and I really enjoyed it mainly because it was my first time going to a church that not many people didn’t know my family or the stuff that had happened or I had just disappeared without telling anyone which was honestly very healing for me knowing that I wouldn’t just disappear all of a sudden. When I first started going to Des Moines Salt Company at first, I was kind of shy but I remember absolutely loved how many songs there was and the message was really good so when Chelsea asked if I wanted to go every week I said yes and I’m very glad that I did! Because a few weeks later I went on my first college retreat and it was amazing because I took some pictures on my phone because I love photography as well as writing and met some amazing friends that I’m still friends with to this day! My point is community can be healing especially when you’re going through a breakup, don’t have the most stable church background or even life growing up or even now because depending on the person that person can turn into one of your best friends even if it takes some time. All friendships take time to develop and that’s okay. Proverbs 18:24 says;” One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Throughout my life I’ve had people who I was friends with for a either short time period that either I decided not to be friends with for mental health reason or lost contact with because of moving or changing churches, my parents said that I can’t be friends with when I was younger or some decided not to be friends with me for different reasons and you know what that’s okay. Some friendships and relationships weren’t meant to last forever. When that does happen, I usually would just move on with my life depending on the person. Now there have been friendships that I’ve had a hard time moving on from because of either what that person did or I was good friends with and maybe you’re in the same position that I’ve been in the past. I’m here to tell you that while it does hurt at first it does get better over time and there are some friendships that can be restored it just takes time.  You just need to remember to breathe and remember that even if some friendships and relationships don’t last it just means that God has something better in store for you. With relationships I advise you to just take a break from relationships because while I understand that it may be tempting to start dating right away your heart also needs time to heal no matter how long it takes especially if the relationship was getting really serious like marriage serious which while I haven’t been engaged yet the guy that I was dating last year was at one point planning on proposing once we hit the one year mark. When that relationship ended for reasons I’d rather not say on here. I was hurting a lot and took some time for me to stop thinking about him because there are times that I tend to over think things which is sometimes a good thing but majority of the times it’s a bad thing to over think things because it gets you way too stressed out. Exodus 16:10 says;” While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. “That’s how community is supposed to be the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud because something that my pastor said last week at church was that community is part of God’s nature and that’s very true because community is an important part of everyone’s lives. Because we are better together than we are apart. While for me personally there are times that I want to be by myself and there are times that I want to be independent. I also know that I can’t do everything by myself which is exactly why community is so important! Because when you’re going through a hard time a true friend will give you advice when needed but also listen to what’s going on in your life which is honestly why I’m very thankful for the amazing people that I call friends a few my closest friends! Because life is a roller coaster to where there have been times that I’ve cried or have just been quiet because I don’t always know what to say or how to respond to certain situations and you know what that’s okay you don’t always have to talk there are times that it’s good to stay quiet. Because it gives you time to pray and think things through. Community is also good when you or someone you know needs prayer for something. James 5:16 says;” Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Both prayer and community can be very healing because when you do something that later on you realize that what you did was wrong your friend or friends can help you through it and God can help as well even if it takes some time to truly get over what you did and what someone did to you. As I finish this blog post, I hope you learned a lot while reading what I have to say and I want to challenge you to reach out to at least 1 person that you haven’t talked to in a while. As always, if you need someone to talk to, have any prayer requests and or have any questions feel free to comment below, message me on this blog’s Facebook page or e-mail me at Homeschoolgradblog@gmail.com.  Thanks for reading!