At 12 years old I moved. Moved to what would be the most formative place, the country. Raising sheep and weeding vegetables taught me perseverance, but it was the neighbours the friends that meant the most. My family moved to the county to a farm we called Patmos, after the rock of Peter's desolation and revelation. We moved with 5 other families from the city, and from our church. We were to live in a community, built around a prophetic dream that has yet to be realized.
Despite our parents religious idealism something was caught by us kids who played hide and go seek most summer nights till it was well past our bedtimes. The thing we caught was friendship, sharing, living with blurred lines of family. Today I share nephews and nieces with my best highschool friends, because of the strength of these friendships. The strength of that group of people has been what has launched the majority of us into ministry. Most importantly it has influenced the way we think of the place we live, the people we meet, those we call our friends.
When I read Bonnehoeffer's book LIFE TOGETHER, I realized that we were meant for something much different than our typical work/neighbourhood communities offer. Community is only realized as we life for, with and to God. Everything else falls short. For me friendship is not about proximity, but about the ongoing attitude of my heart to bless and desire the best for the people God allows me to bump into. I suppose this may be the fulfilment of my parents idealism, maybe it is the beginning of my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment