Life Together
I am such a fortunate person. I have been gifted by the Creator of the universe an opportunity to live a life that centers around Him. It is so freeing for me to sit back and let Him work. I love being a part of His plans and I do not want to do anything to get in the way of that. In my experience, He knows what is best for me and when I just allow myself to experience that, I am constantly in awe of His goodness. I absolutely do not think that God is good to me because I obey Him; instead, it is on me to accept His goodness by obeying His calling in my life. He really does have my best interest in mind and I just have to say yes.
If you read my last post, you learned how I recently accepted a job working for OneLife as a resident leader. When I received the phone call about this opportunity, I was comfortably living at home. I was substitute teaching and I had more free time than I knew what to do with, while enjoying the familiarity of Greenfield, Ohio. Everywhere I went, people knew me and would welcome me in. When I decided to take this job, I instantly made myself uncomfortable. I had to pack up my car and set out on my own to live in a house with strangers and do a job that I knew little about. I said yes because I knew that it was my calling and I had to trust that God would be present in this new adventure.
Over the course of my first week on staff with OneLife, I have been filled with overwhelming joy again and again. I have had opportunities to pour into other people and I have been poured into, as well. Laughter fills this house daily as we learn what it means to share our lives. While it is my responsibility to care for these nine students, I realize that they are also caring for me. They take care of my physical needs like preparing meals and cleaning up our shared spaces, but they also fulfill my need for community. One of the hardest things about living at home was missing the relationships that I had developed in college. I missed the late-night theological conversations, and the “how are you really doing?” check-ins. They had been such an important part of my life and I had lost them. While my role is a bit different in this group, I am able to find the type of community that I crave.
Living in Christian community has been one of the things that has contributed the most to my personal growth. Having people around me who want to talk about life helps me to process my own thoughts and grow from them. I also love having people around me who I can ask to hold me accountable for things. For example, I asked the other guys here to check in on whether or not I have been journaling. I have a personal goal to journal every day so that I can keep a record of my OneLife experience. I have also asked for accountability in taking time to go for a solo walk. This helps me to stay focused on the things that I want to do that I feel will be good for me. I believe that we are created to live in community, and when we have that we are able to experience God in a way that we can never know when we are walking through life alone.
If we are actively seeking out authentic Christian community, we can get a glimpse into what heaven will be like. The nature of God is inherently communal. When we surround ourselves with people who love Him and are pursuing Him, we are able to experience God in a way that we never will be able to on our own. As I remember the times in my life when I have felt the closest to God, I realize that the common factor was that I have been surrounded by a community centered around the Creator of the universe. We all need people around us to help us grow, and I am so grateful for the group I am a part of and how they support me on my journey.
