“The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.” -Dean Ornish
There was a season in my life when I felt profoundly lonely and disconnected from both the Lord and the people around me. During this time, I fell into a dark hole of depression. I longed to be loved and seen. In my search for connection, I turned to worldly things, believing it held the answers I sought. In doing so, I forgot who I was and, most importantly, whose I was.
It took confessing to a trusted friend, admitting, “I messed up,” to begin my journey back. I still remember that day like it was yesterday: sitting on her office floor, crying, confessing, and being honest and vulnerable for the first time in a long time. In this moment, I realized I couldn’t do this alone—I wouldn’t survive. I needed people who were following hard after Jesus to be part of my inner circle.
“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” Proverbs 27:17
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2
A wise lady once told me, “Community is immunity.” Find a place, a community where you can be yourself and be vulnerable enough to say, “I messed up.” We can’t do this alone—believe me, I’ve tried, and I’m pretty sure countless others have tried before me. But God didn’t make us to do life alone. He made us for community.
Even God isn’t alone: He has Jesus and the Holy Spirit—they are three in one. If the Father doesn’t do anything alone, how can we expect ourselves to do life alone?
I want to challenge you: if you haven’t found your people—those with whom you can lay it all out on the line and say, “This is who I am, these are the mistakes I’ve made”—find them! If you have your people, bring others into your community. Don’t let others do life alone.
“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.” – M. Scott Peck
