My ‘Other’ Life & A Call to Encourage Your Community

For eight weeks every summer my life changes, or at least it has for the past two years. My normal routine, which I’m quite fond of, changes drastically. I go from sharing a 2B/2.5 bath townhouse with my roommate, to living in a house with up to sixteen people in it. I share a room with five other ladies and have share one bathroom with up to ten people. What I see as a normal amount of sleep gets cut in half on most nights. I feel like I move from one extreme to another for two months.

My community of people I share life 
with changes completely as well.

I am introduced to about thirty new people who I will work alongside for eight weeks. It’s intense meeting people and having to trust them and work alongside them right away. Normally those things take time. That’s something we don’t have though. Well, we do, but only eight weeks of it.

I love my summers working at camp.

I really do.

I need you, you need me.

I’m not sure where I would be without community.

Strong statement? Maybe. At this point in my life, though, it is my reality. I have been living on my ‘own’ for about 11 years now., and I know I would not be where I am today without my community of friends, leaders and family in my life.

This hasn’t always been my belief.

Growing up, I was always taught in school and by society to ‘follow my dreams,’ ‘make it happen,’ ‘you control your destiny.’ Those thoughts are very ‘me’ focused. I started to believe those things and began to follow my dreams. My dreams led me to Tennessee, where I came to realize that I couldn’t do these things on my own. Every time I tried, I failed. I learned that I needed to rely on God and others to help, to encourage, mentor, to pray for me, or give advice from their lives.

Community looks beyond the ‘me’ and looks to others.