I was reminded today how sacred fellowship truly is. I’ve mentioned before that I’m one of those closet introverts who can do a real good “extrovert act” but I recharge and am restored through alone-time. I love being alone. Before Dutch was born I had four months of being at home (and in school) without working. And after Dutch was born I had six months home alone before we moved in with my parents. I truly loved every second of it. So sometimes it’s too easy for me to just do my solo-act and forget how much my spirit is nourished through sacred fellowship.
And today I was reminded how truly sacred fellowship really is. We are social beings. God created us to function in relationship. God Himself, our Triune God, is in Himself ever and always in relationship within the Godhead and with us as His creation. He placed us in families and calls us to congregate in local churches to function as His hands and feet in relationship. We are challenged, sharpened, loved, edified, and exposed through our relationship with others. I know the desert fathers were amazing people, but I truly do not know how you can dig down deeper in the love and knowledge of our Lord without the fellowship of other believers. This is why I love the The Hawk and The Dove trilogy, because it highlights that even in the life of these devoted monks, who devoted enormous amounts of time to individual prayer and study, their growth, struggles, and epiphanies came largely through their relationship with eachother.
So after being sick for two weeks, a couple other girls and I finally got together for a playdate with our five kids, four of which are little boys 2-3 years old. You can imagine the orchestra of engine, explosion, and siren sounds in our little living room! (But you cannot imagine the explosion of cracker crumbs under our dining room table! 🙂 Jeff walked in as I was sweeping and started laughing and said, “What happened?!” I smiled and said, “Awesome playdate!” )
It was such a sweet and sacred time. The kids played with trucks, went on a “monster hunt” through all the bedrooms, and stacked Legos to their hearts content. We moms soaked up the rare treat of actually sitting down on the couch, with kids happily occupied, and being able to converse and encourage one another. As always, I was amazed how similar our lives are–joys, sorrows, struggles. We all are dealing with different challenges, yet each requires the same response on our part–faith and trust that our Heavenly Father is in control.
So now I’m just soaking up the silence (kind of, Dutch is apparently having a dance party on his bed), and thanking God for the sacredness of fellowship.