The story...
You're in a group that's planned to last about a year. You get to know each other well with only a couple of months left. When a deeper question arises, the group respectfully ponders it. The guy who used to blurt out the answer feels comfortable with the silence. The guy who didn't know what to say, and feared sharing, is quietly and peacefully pondering it too. When a group member speaks up, the group listens and more naturally values the thoughts expressed from his inner man. The sense of community feels great - we're growing together. "One person says, lets all stay with each other next year too." I'm currently enjoying my seventh year in a group like this. I greatly value each of the seven groups and every member - I'm a better person because of our common life investments.
Three years ago, I met a group member who was different then me in many ways yet we shared a common life struggle and the suffering that went with it. We began meeting a few times per month and have continued for going on four years. I greatly value our friendship, we both have grown to be better men, and our faith seems to have grown together. It's kind of like we're walking together like Christian and Faithful walked through Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan, 1678).
Years ago, my best friend and I enjoyed a trip to the Boundary Waters on the border of Minnesota and Ontario. We planned the trip with other's help, we geared up at the Canoe Outfitter and learned how to react to bear encounters as a group. Yet, when we pushed off from the dock - we were on our own with only a map to guide us. Pilgrims in a new territory that promised adventure, beauty, suffering, and catching fish for protein. The portages were strenuous. The four bear encounters were terrifying. The moose encounters were humbling. The first dip of the paddle in the morning was serene. Relying on each other was bonding. The trip was really hard and really good. Constantly wondering and anticipating, "what's around the bend?" Strangely, we don't think that we would do it again yet greatly value the experience.
The only church in town will offer relationship opportunities at different levels - different relationships for different people within their season of life. The full church, groups, friendships, close friendships, and most importantly their relationship walking humbly with God in Christ. The last affords the opportunity to make the first three types fruit bearing and worthy.
Just for today...
"Self-esteem grows when I love and accept myself as I am. I block my own well-being each time I base my self-worth on what I do or what others think of me." Courage to Change (p. 118)
"When I heard the recording, I was immediately flooded with fear and apprehension . . . I pray that I may not fall into the error of anticipating trouble . . . If it should come, let me meet it with equanimity and love." Hope for Today (p. 118)
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