Community

About six months after we moved to California, I was having a conversation with someone and they asked me the area that I wanted to grow in most as a person. I quickly answered community with others. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that Jarrell and I never had community in the other places that we lived, but we moved so often that it was hard for us to stay connected to people. It made me guarded and not want to open up fully to others, because I knew that we probably wouldn't be in that place long term, so I didn't want to develop deep attachments to others. I wasn't super intentional with relationships. God is good and He brought wonderful friends along in those seasons despite my attitude.

When we moved to California, I deeply desired community with roots. People that I knew and that knew me. People that I weathered many seasons of life with and that understood me. I knew this wouldn't happen overnight and knew that it would mean opening myself up to others. I can say currently I am experiencing the community I desired three years ago. Beautiful things don't just happen, they are made. This community was made through times of joy, pain, sorrow, lots of tears, laughs, honest conversations, big life changes and just life in general.

The past three weeks have been filled with so many blessings of this community that I am so completely overwhelmed with love. I truly have a full cup. We celebrated the birth of Amariah with so many friends. So many people have provided us with the most amazing meals. People have brought such thoughtful gifts for not only Amariah, but for Moses and Emery too. We have had people that came and visited us from hours away to catch up with us and to meet Amariah. People have watched Moses and Emery for us, so that we have time to rest and time to spend together.

Our lives are so rich and full because of this community that God has placed us in. I am so thankful that I have grown in this area as a person because I would be missing out on so much.