From Where I Stand: Community and Calling

Recently, I have been really thinking about what the term community actually means. It is a word that is thrown around quite a bit, especially in Christian circles. But what does community actually mean? What does true fellowship and acceptance look like?

            When I was searching for a Christian college, community was one aspect that I seriously considered. I wanted a school that had a “good” reputation for community. Looking back, it was such a subjective thing to be looking for. The summer after my freshman year, I wasn’t especially keen on coming back to IWU. I felt that there wasn’t a sense of community at the school, and I wanted to find better community somewhere else. However, I (finally) realized the truth:

The school wasn’t the problem. The lack of community here wasn’t the problem. I was.

I wasn’t putting myself out there. I wasn’t taking up opportunities to be in the community that God had placed me in, and so I blamed the school.

I am so thankful to say that two years after the end of my freshman year, I have found a tremendous community at school. IWU has become a home to me, and the small “insignificant” town of Marion, Indiana has left a huge impact on my heart.

This last semester was the hardest that I have experienced. It was a large struggle academically and emotionally, and I felt that my spiritual life was non-existent at times. However, I experienced the true meaning of community more than ever before at this time of my hardest struggle.

This semester, I felt so loved by the people God had placed in my life at this place. The encouragement was poured in, and God was using relationships to rebuild me. There were so many nights of laughter and joy with my roommate and housemates. There were coffee dates and lunch dates with dear friends. There were class projects that became fun by the company of others in them. There were office meetings with my professors, who have invested in my life. In this time of struggle, there was opportunity. There was love. There was fellowship. There was community.

Now, this didn’t come easily. There were so many times when I didn’t want to leave my room. There were days when I struggled to wake up with a good attitude, let alone be able to socialize well with others. However, God gave me the strength to keep going- and to put myself intentionally into community. To let people know how to pray for me. To make new friends and maintain relationships with old ones. To get to know professors who wanted to know me.

After this hard semester, I have been blessed with a three-week May Term. Through this, I have been able to experience campus life with a less academically-minded point of view. This time has helped me experience even more community. Through trips to the park, taking time to go out to coffee with a friend, maintaining new friendships, and even learning someone’s name. To be more intentional. God has certainly been teaching me a lesson in intentionality with community. And through this time, I have been blessed by others who have shown me God’s love through laughter and conversations and trust. I am so thankful for the community that I have found at IWU, and the friends that have been made (either through classes, res life, extra-curricular activities, etc). This is what life is about.

Through the love and encouragement I have received, I have been able to re-examine the gifts God has given me and hone in on what God wants me to do. When I came into school freshman year, I wanted to “change the world” and I wasn’t sure how. I have realistically revised my mind-set a bit. I am looking forward to aiding in God’s work through restoring marriages. Through rebuilding relationships in families. Through helping couples begin their marriages centered on Christ. Through research (yes- research!). I am so looking forward to the new journey that is ahead of me in the near future, and I am so blessed to continue to build my community at IWU, and be able to build new community where God leads me next.

“Don’t expect to change the world while you sit and watch it pass you by.”

 Life is beautiful, and the small aspects of life (and people) are wonderful, and such a blessing. Sometimes all you need is a new perspective, and it changes everything. And at times, you need help getting a new perspective. And that’s where community comes in.