Community Support Is Critical In Life

When I was growing up, I thought everyone had support and a community who would rally around them in difficult situations. I have experienced giving support and receiving it and honestly, I don't know how people do without it.

I first started to really see the power of community in high school. We went through something as a church youth group that rocked us and I remember going to my co-op two days later and my friends just being there for me. My mom said that our coordinator had asked her, "what does Sarah need? Does she need to talk or just to have a day like everything is normal?" and that thoughtfulness meant everything to me.

Not long after that, a boy in our youth group lost his father very unexpectedly. I'm not good with death but a bunch of us went to the visitation to support him. I vividly remember him by his father's casket crying and I couldn't do anything but go up and but my arm around his shoulders and just sit there.

There is power in just being there for someone, even if you don't say anything.

But community is more than just presence. Community brings with it action. When my granddad was sick and dying, our friends and church family brought us meals and made sure we kids got to where we needed to be so my mom could help out my grandmother. My mom and I are fixers so when we see a need, our automatic response is, "what can I do?".  A friend's car is in the shop and they have somewhere they need to be - we might know someone who has an extra car they can use. Community can't fix the big problems of life but they ease them by lifting the weight of the small, everyday things that don't care that your world is falling to pieces. Community can run errands, make meals, watch kids or take them places. Sometimes community raises money to meet a need one person can't on their own.

This is what I've experienced, from both sides of the spectrum. But I've seen first-hand when someone has no community. My great-uncle was sick and dying and his wife was struggling. My grandmother and mother spent a TON of time driving out there to help because she had no support or community. Now, she has friends, but they all work and can't help. Community is made up of a variety of people that can cover different needs at different times. But she didn't have the kind of vibrant, diverse community that I've grown up with and have been a part of.

Life is hard and we all need support. It's a privilege to be the support and when it's our turn to receive, we need to do so graciously. As the body of Christ, we are His hands and feet and the world can benefit from our support just as much as the church does. 

How have you seen support and community at work in your life or how have you blessed others by being their community support?