I was a part of such a deep committed community when I was overseas. They really loved me and I in turned loved and of course still love them. We shared so much being so far from "home". Coming back, I felt so far from everyone and getting back to the busyness of life... felt the loss of that community.
These couple days of orientation was so good for me. I'm really so excited to be around a community of believers, who I pray will stick to the commitment they talked about during orientation. Just to be open and honest, upholding each other in biblical standards. I guess thinking that I will be spending a lot more time with these people makes it a little bit more the community... I may be tricking myself and romanticising the whole thing, but I feel so hopeful in being with these people with common direction, same faith, passion for God... I can't wait to get to know the professors more either... I love that my professors will be praying for me and have already started praying for me by name, before even meeting me.
I know some people do not understand my struggle to keep up with the busyness, but more so that I don't want to be a part of that busyness. During our orientation they talked about how we need to keep up with our spiritual walk with God and just because we are learning biblical stuff, doesn't mean that is our personal time with God. I know my life is going to start being crazy with A, school, life, but I do not want to sacrifice my time with God to keep up with others' schedules or standards. And as I type this I am really recommitting myself to this. I have been a little lazy lately, just wanting a break... but that's exactly it, I don't want to burn out, which I feel like I have been over this summer. I know my limit and I want to do everything for His glory and don't want to do anything half heartedly.
As I do this, I want a close community to walk with me and I with them. Lord I pray for godly men and women to be my community.
God added to my community today. I got to my orientation a little early so I sat in the lobby waiting for it to start. As I sat there, I started talking to this lady next to me. We talked about what we are going to study and where we are from... I was so excited and praise God for His provision. This lady, R, lives like a few blocks from our place and has two girls, in which A is like in between their ages. The older one is going to the school that A is going to. R began explaining the work God is doing in this school... It's amazing. Thursday mornings, moms get together in the playground after the students go into class to pray over the school. How amazing is that??? The PTO also has a world vision child that they sponsor and the students are really involved in it. I praised God for giving A a believing teacher, but I am just so glad that years of prayer went into this school before A even attended. There is some other things I learned, but I will share that at a later time. I'm really excited to see what the Lord will do with this community in my life.
God calls us to be a people of community... to be a body. We need each other. A guy at orientation today was talking about how even at our school people (a Christ centered school) get so busy and caught up in their deadlines that they walk around campus and do not acknowledge people that they know. I need people... I admit it. I need people to affirm me. I need people to help me. I need people to confront me when I am sinning. I need people to have fun with me. I need people to be interested in my life and want to be a part of it. I'm sure so many other people out there are like that.
There was a guy at my table today who is a second year grad student and he said how we could really get lonely, we as people. Really encouraging us to be a part of community.
I had a women's group when I was overseas. A group of 4-5 women... we got together every Monday (almost every Monday) and we got down dirty with each other... updating each other on our lives, asking the hard questions, challenging each other, talking about the heart issues and praying for one another. I ask this in the humblest way possible, but how many of us are in that kind of community?? I mean having people to share life's disappointments, hardships, burdens, sins with, but in turn also can rejoice with... We need that... God commands that.
A reverse culture shock that I have been experiencing is the individualistic lives that we live here... I am Korean and have lived in an Asian country for the past few years... They are so community based, sometimes I think a little too much :), but there has to be some kind of happy medium right?
I am a people person. Enjoy being with people, get energized by being with people, love people, find pleasure in having people over...
I am someone if that if I don't have it, I'll go look for it. So beware, I may come stalk you to be my friend... :)
