Oh, the Beauty of Community

Community. Openness. Realness. Freedom. These four seemingly simple words have been major themes in my life lately, and it all began my first year of college. The friends I have made in college have changed my life. I came to college and I thought I knew who I was and what I was looking for but soon my boundaries were shaken. I had entered community. It was in my small group of friends that I learned the importance of being open and being real. With my friends there was an atmosphere that allowed for openness and realness and anything other that just didn’t seem right. I was encouraged to be me and it was okay. I finally experienced a love where I could just lay out who I was—the good and the bad—and I was accepted. There was understanding and encouragement as well as challenges. It was understood that we were in everything together and we were there for each other. There was growth.
It was in that group of friends that was able to be open and real with myself. I was able to confront my struggles as well as grow in my strengths. I was able to deal with my past hurts and explore my true passions. I was free to be me. I wasn’t used to being able to be open and real and express doubts and concerns about life and about God but with my friends, we were honest. We were honest and together we’ve grown. We’ve matured spiritually, emotionally, and mentally and it’s been awesome. It’s been such a great experience to tackle life together, challenging each other, and supporting each other in this journey we call life.
Through my friendships I learned the beauty of community and now how can I desire anything else? Through the odd mix that I call my friends, I learned about the freedom that comes through openness and being real. I experienced the beauty of the body of Christ and the freedom that comes through embracing it. It’s something that I desire to see everywhere that I go and something I always want to pour into and help develop whenever I can because of how much it’s impacted me. My beliefs or values haven’t been shaped by just one specific event; it’s been a series of events. They haven’t been impacted by just one person; it’s been by many people. The past three years have been a journey of transformation in who I am and what I believe and I’m so excited to continue that journey!