Community Saved Me

What’s a community? What do you think of when you hear that word?

The dictionary defines community as; a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

The world tell us community is the relationships with the people immersed in our everyday lives, at school, our work place, neighbors, etc.

The church tells us it’s the body, the family of your fellow believers, your small groups and bible studies.

I grew up with the mentality that community was something you were just around, you didn’t need to dive in, you didn’t need their help, you just kept your head down and never spoke up. I’m going to hit you with the same truth that I found out, THAT IS NOT COMMUNITY.

Then I learned. As I was thrusted into a community of believers with Catalyst my world became radically changed. I went from briefly being asked “How are you?”, and quickly responding “Good, and you?” to maintain social etiquette, to being asked “How are you doing?” in a completely new way.

Same question yet with such a different delivery. It came from people around me who didn’t know anything about me yet cared how my heart was truly doing in that very moment. It came from people who wouldn’t settle with a just “Good!” but truly wanted to hear the hard stuff. They didn’t give up on me. Now don’t get me wrong, I rejected this whole new world for a while at first, and would give brief comments about how I was doing, but even with my arm held out pushing people away, they never left. As my arm started to lower, I found myself opening up about, well everything. I became more vulnerable with people because there was a safety that came with the people that surrounded me. Slowly and surely they came along side me as Jesus was healing my heart and helping put all my broken pieces back together. They began seeing all my mess, the hard stuff and they remained right beside me.

My view of community shifted, community to me are the people who you’re laying your life down beside. Its people who cherish your heart above all things and people who view you constantly in the light that The Lord sees you in. Community embraces you at your worst and commits to building you to be your best. Community laughs with you and has fun in the daily life adventures that become cherished memories. Community has the ability to save you if you truly embrace it.

Jesus has placed me in Tacoma, Washington, in the rain and cloudy days, into a mansion with 20+ people, and into the heart of a community that has truly shifted my life and has loved me so well that I can’t help but thank Him for choosing me and exposing me to Catalyst.

So, “How am I doing?” WELL, let me tell you friends!

I truly feel alive for the first time in so long.

The Lord has been surfacing many hard things that I honestly didn’t know my heart contained. I’m being peeled back layer by layer and all of my mess is becoming exposed. Why? Because at the end of the day my sin doesn’t turn Him away and He just wants my pure heart at the bottom of it all. For the first time in my life, I am a complete mess and I probably cry more than I have in my entire life but I have never trusted Jesus with my life so much as I do in this moment. In all the lessons and crying out to Him I hold nothing back anymore with Him or people around me. I’ve learned that I can’t do it on my own, I was never meant to and the people He’s placed around me, well alongside The Lord, they’ve saved me.