Importance of Community

 

I can think of no other way to describe this scene other than to say that this is a happy tree. How could one pass by this yard and not smile? Four bird houses grace the branches, each house unique. One is in the shape of a guitar, another a toadstool, another a vintage milk can and one appears to be inspired by a hut from some tropical paradise. This little neighborhood within a neighborhood even has a grocery store; a bird feeder hangs in the midst of the houses.

It was all quiet when I happened by. All the residents were off doing what birds do, I suppose. I imagine them making their rounds through the neighborhood as I do, though they bring music and color along their path. Like their human neighbors, I picture them all returning home at roughly the same time in the evening, calling it a day and resting up to start all over again with the rising of the sun.

I enjoyed coming across this little community. For some reason it made me aware of how we all need each other as we go through this life. Just this week, I have spoken with two friends who have faced the hardest of experiences. Both expressed how their network of friends and family has blessed them and are helping them through their struggles. Though we often feel we can’t do anything to help someone else, our presence is a powerful thing. We can only fully understand that power until we experience it in our own life from others when we are in a hard place. That is when we realize the importance of community. That is when we are able to hear the music and see glimpses of color others bring with them as they walk beside us in our struggles.

As we read in Galatians, “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Peace.