Lakeside spirituality

My family just returned from a wonderful, but too brief, getaway to a lakehouse just outside of Gun Barrell City. We were guests of some great people and got to spend some quality time with them and their family...and we also got to hang out with some new friends. It was a fantastic time to just relax and enjoy doing the things that families do. We played and laughed and ate and rested...but the best part was to "do it" with them.

Community has been discussed, debated, detracted and disected, over the last decade...and I'm not the one to set everyone straight on what true community is. (I think the Bible can speak for itself.) But here are just a few observations that I gathered over the time that we were lakeside.

Community is FAMILY.

This does not exclude a single person at all...they are part of a family. It doesn't mean that you have to have children of your own. But the essence of community is family. The closest people in the world are family members. That means that you are related to them...which means that you are ONE of THEM. It's not an election or a vote. You are a member of the family and therefore, part of something...something that is intrinsicly (sp?) inclusive. No matter the age, intelligence, net worth, giftedness (or lack thereof), if you are family then you are IN. I can rest when I'm with my family. I can be myself when I'm with my family. I can fail and be okay because I'm family. Family will work with my failures. Family will hold me accountable. Family will cheer for me. Family will hurt with me when I hurt. Family will track me down when I wander off. Community is FAMILY.

Community is 24/7.
It really doesn't matter if I am physically with my community all the time...I am conscious of them and they are conscious of me. I miss my community when I'm away. I look forward to seeing my community again. I make plans to be with my communitiy. I go out of my way to hang out with my community. My community is on my mind. I could call them, text them, drop by their house, send an email to them, pray for them, meet them for lunch, vacation with them, go to the movies with them, have them over to my house, play games with them...community is a 24/7 kind of a thing. It's not a duty or an obligation. It's a relationship that doesn't punch a clock. It's just who we are.

Community is IMPRESSIONABLE.
My community should impress itself on my life. When someone in my community is committed to something...that often affects me. I might even find myself getting more committed to that "thing." My values are shaped by the values of my community. And I can (and will) impress my values on my community. I am scarred by my community. That can be taken as a negative...but I want to look at it in a positive way. As community becomes a lingering and lasting influence, I begin to see the marks of community showing up, involuntarily, on my "skin." The skin of my mind...my memories. We have shared and been shaped by the experiences of community. And that can be a very good thing.

These three observations are not novel. They are simply observing something...not creating it...observing it. If you are part of community, then I think you would agree with what I've said. If you are missing these in your life, then I hope you will pursue them. You can't be community with the world. Community is an identified group of people...you identify them and they identify you. When you're not "there," you are missed. And it is rare that you are not there...because they are part of your life.

As we were with this group of people, I recognized that we are not part of their community in the strictest sense. We loved being with them and they are part of our world, but I wouldn't say that they are our "community." But, I do have a community and they are my family, and our relationship is 24/7 and we continue to make deep impressions on one another. And all I can say is, we are blessed.