One of the great blessing of my life is, to never have been without friends. Growing up my parents had a close group of people that they went to high school with. They stayed connected to this day. Naturally, they all had kids and we all became friends. We would play upstairs as our parents below shouted in joy after a wining hand of cards. It was something I never thought twice about. This was normal for me, and as most of us do with our situations early on, I assumed it to be normal for all. But as we (the kids) grew up we grew apart.
I started to go to youth group when I was in junior high and continued for six years until I finished high school. During my time there, I met some very interesting people and, normally enough for me, we became friends. The friends that I made in those years would prove to be some of the most valuable relationships of my life. Just to mention the most important, it was the place I met Jess. As all of us grew up together we became closer. Things like youth group retreats, mission trips, and lock-ins were the glue that bonded us together. In high school there was not a week that would go by where we did not spend time together at my house. As we got older the get-togethers happen close to three nights a week. As High School ended and “the crew” went to college or work and the dynamic changed. The group got smaller and the get-togethers less frequent. Some of us grew apart and some of us are still friends today.
The experiences of my past, namely, parents having life long friends since high school along with thinking that I had found a similar thing in my own high school friends made me believe that I had it all and there was little need to expand my own friendship as I came to Northwest. This is not to say I was opposed to new friends but I did not feel the need to actively seek a group of friends similar to the one I had found growing up. I took friendship for granted. But, an interesting thing happened over the four years I attended NU; little by little I began to naturally develop a sense of community with people who seemed to be the least likely candidates for friends. As we went through school together we became closer. This group of friends seemed to be different than previous one though. The things that bonded us together were not just similar events but they were dissimilar ideas, experiences, and beliefs. And as we grew together in our acceptance of each other, out of love, our dissimilarities and shared experiences began to challenge and refine each others individual world views. This was not a painless process. In fact, it was actually a quite painful process at times but is was bearable because we had each other. As we practiced community by showing love to each other, before we knew it we had built something that none of us had experienced before nor could live without afterward “True Community.”
Unfortunately, this “True Community” is not a utopian society. We still hurt each other with painful words and actions, we still end up valuing ourselves over each other, and we still doubt each others motives. But as Mike explained to me a few days ago, “What makes our community so beautiful is that we choose to trust each other even though none of us are trust worthy.”
Just the other day a friend of ours was rushed to the hospital because of a flu shot gone wrong. They told her and her family that she could lose her arm and possibly her life. I received an email as they were taking her into emergency surgery asking us to pray. And at that moment it hit me more than ever before. This is why God has brought us together. This is why we have developed relationships with each other. To help, guide, and encourage each other through life. I remember receiving a call from Mike in the middle of the night, he was more distraught than I have ever heard someone. He told me that his little sister had tried to commit suicide for the second time in just a few days. In one of the most magnificent displays of friendship I have ever seen, Andrew, Veronica, and Brian drove Mike over the pass and though a blizzard to get to her just incase she didn’t make it through the night. Though a spectacular turn of events, of which I credit to God, she beat incredible odds and survived. This is a story of community; a story of love.
As we enter into a season of thanksgiving I am thankful for this community in which we all have been gifted. I believe that it is by no accident that we have been bound together and look forward to living life alongside all of you in the days ahead. I am sure that this group will mold and change as time goes on but let us make one commitment to each other. A commitment that no matter what happens over the years, to take the love that Christ fosters in this community and find ways to give it away to others. To include the left out, accept the unaccpetable, to love the unloveable, and embrace the objectionable. Let us adopt the orphans, care for the sick, give to the needy, and to welcome home the exiled. This is the example of Christ. May we not just love within this community, but instead, let the love that our community breeds sustain us to give love away. I love each of you dearly and consider you to be my closest friends! Happy Thanksgiving!
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