Silver and Gold

Silver and Gold

Three months into post-grad life and I've come to learn a couple things. One, you can no longer stay up until 3 AM if you have to start work at 7 AM and get up at 5:45 AM to drive there. Two, just as you now have money, you also have bills to pay so maybe you shouldn't buy that new TV and pay off some of those loans. And thirdly, having a community is very important. Let me explain that last one a little bit. I went to two different schools and made many important friends there. However, I'm in Ohio, and all my friends are either in California or Oklahoma, so it is hard to spend time with them. Recently, I've been very homesick for my friends. Not because I never see or talk to them. In fact, in the last two weeks, I've been able to Skype with two of my friends and I plan to Skype with two more of them soon. I saw several of them graduate in May, and I've been balancing many text messages and group chats where I'm updated on the many things my friends are doing. So it wasn't from lack of hearing from them. But I did miss the long nights of studying and longer study breaks. I missed the late night drives to go anywhere but to sleep. I missed the random but delicious foods we always had to get. I missed the inside jokes that could be passed back and forth between us, without waiting for the other person to text back. The thing I missed most of all, was having a supportive group of friends surrounding me.

 Both of the colleges that I went to were Christian colleges, and one of the best things about that was having a constant body of believers to pray for you, advise you and point you back to the cross when you had questions. I realize, now that I'm in "the real world," that I took this for granted sometimes. Now that I'm home it's a bit harder to keep in touch with everyone and to fully experience that supportive atmosphere. I've experienced ups and downs in the last three months and, while I know that I can bring my concerns to the Lord, it is also nice to have someone nearby that will be in prayer with you. But none of those people live close to me, besides my sister. We enjoy each others company, but both desire friendships and community with other believers. We've started looking for that community through the church we go to and signed up to be a part of a small group. Two days ago, we had our first meeting. We were both excited and nervous about it. We were hoping that this would be a good group and that it wouldn't be one of those things that fizzle out after one or two meetings. I personally was having a hard week up to that point and craved an escape from the stress I was feeling. When we got there, the makeup of the group was older than we expected. However, the atmosphere and the company was really welcoming. As I was sitting there, and everyone was introducing themselves and discussing plans for the group, I could feel some of that stress coming off of me! Not because I poured out my trouble to these people, I mean I just met them! But being surrounded by like-mindedness was comforting, a reminder of Jesus's love through His Body, the church.

 Since then, I've learned a few more things. First, Gestures is a very fun game to play with any group of people, because there's something about being on the clock that brings out our worse acting skills. Second, having Christian community is so important and helpful. I'm not saying you shouldn't have any friends that are non-believers. I have some and enjoy their company. However, I really appreciate being able to turn to someone who also believes the same thing I do when my soul needs encouragement. Third and finally, it's good to have some solid connections, but don't be afraid to seek more that will help you grow. I'm looking forward to this small group and what I can learn from it, but I also want to find a group that is in the same age range as I am, that might be walking through the same things in life as I am. Also, just because I'm looking for a community where I am, doesn't mean I'll forget the community that I've had. I'll still keep in touch with my old friends and look forward to growing those friendships more. I'm also excited to find more community where I am now. This whole situation reminds me of a song from elementary school, "make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, but the others gold." Friendships, both old and new, are precious and important, and I will treasure all of them no matter the distance between us.