Friday, April 3, 2015

Being in Community

I've been struggling yesterday and today, but (thank God) it's with something we ALL go through at times. It's either a bad cold or a light case of the flu. I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that I was glad to be able to get to the Stations of the Cross service at Grace Church today, and read my meditation without sneezing at the lectern.

I haven't done much else other than nap, drink tea, eat soup, watch TV and read the newspaper. And I probably wouldn't be writing in this blog if it weren't for the newspaper. Today's Washington Post has a column by Lonnae O'Neal entitled "A once-a-year churchgoer confronts a preacher." I would have read and enjoyed the column under any circumstances, but one part grabbed me:

"There is a blessing for those who get their church from TV or streaming on their laptops, Lee said. But then he spoke to the thing that has felt truest for me since I was a little girl: There is also the spirituality that comes from being in community, he said. That’s about getting out of your silos, even if it is a silo with God, and being in fellowship with the person next to you — 'grappling with people who are also grappling, and trying to get it right.'"

That's what 12-step programs are all about, just as much for regular churchgoers as for those who don't. The spirituality that comes from being in community. Grappling with people -- like you -- who are also grappling, And trying to get it right.

The meeting that I regularly attend -- my "home group" -- is just as much family to me as my church family. We celebrate small successes and milestones, we encourage each other to "keep coming back," and we comfort each other when hard times occur. And we accept and love each other, regardless.

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