This has been the summer I fully embraced the community of my church family. The one where I attend services and the one that has connected me with some life-long friends and acquaintances. It has been a summer of gathering together socially and spiritually. Mostly, it has been the best time I have had in years and I am beyond grateful.
In general terms we define community as an organized network or a coordinated effort to bring people together. Communities develop as people are drawn together by common interests. Maybe they are inspired by activities such as sporting events/clubs or charitable events.
One of the most important aspects of community is that it is a place to develop new relationships. We are drawn to places out of common interests, but usually we are drawn there in the hope of developing new friendships. After all, isn’t the foundation for most friendships something we have in common be it work, church, sports, animals, or charity?
We planned for our future.
We had a vision for our lives.
Together we would do this.
Then one day;
You were gone.
The future we planned no more.
The vision detached,
Distrupting my life.
No more together adventures.
Me alone
The world turned upside down.
New plans to imagine.
New routines to make.
New life to find;
With others.
Stuck between what was,
What is, and yet to come.
Pulling myself forward,
Out of the dark;
Into the unknown.
Looking for his plan in this.
Holding onto faith.
Yearning for love.
Hiding from tears.
Praying for me.
Resting in his will.
Trusting in his love.
Shattered pieces healing.
New life emerging;
Breathing…living
Finding new purpose.
Walking a new path.
Willingly restored.
Stepping forward.
From grief to life.
This past week I witnessed an amazing outpouring of love and generosity toward a young woman and her children, who without warning, lost their husband and father. I don’t know anything about them or their family other than that they are close friends of someone I know. What I do know is that this broken-hearted family was, and is, surrounded by friends from all over the globe. Not only have they raised an enormous amount of money to help them rethink their futures, this incredible group of friends has loved them in the way a family should—never leaving them and ensuring them that they will not be walking forward alone. I have been blessed and inspired as this story continues to unfold.
As someone living as a single with virtually no family ties, I worry about my own adult daughter and how she will do when my time comes. She has no family to fall back on. I know I am not the only single parent who thinks about these things. We boomers think about it even more, especially if we have children who haven’t quite made it on their own yet and may still be living at home with us. The 2011 US Census reports that 27 percent of American children under 18 live with one parent of which 87 percent live with their mother. Another four percent do not live with parents of which 57 percent live with a grandparent. Additionally, the number of adults from 25 to 34 living at home has risen, and continues to rise.
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