Tasting To See: 2015

In her book, Bittersweet, Shauna Niequist writes about what she affectionately calls her "home team." Your home team carries you. They're always there. They walk with you through all the seasons - the good, the bad & the ugly. They're the ones you can always call & count on in a pinch. They're comfortable in your home, and you feel right at home in theirs.

THESE ARE THE ONES WHO TELL YOU THEIR SECRETS, WHO GET THEMSELVES A GLASS OF WATER WITHOUT ASKING WHEN THEY'RE AT YOUR HOUSE...ONE WAY YOU CAN TELL IF SOMEONE'S ON YOUR HOME TEAM IS IF YOU'LL LET THEM WALK RIGHT INTO YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT PICKING UP DIRTY DISHES & CHECKING YOUR HAIR BEFORE THEY GET THERE.
Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

I especially love the idea that people are so comfortable in my home that they help themselves to what they need or let themselves slip through the door when they arrive. It's all about living together in community with those around us. It's about carrying each other. We all need to be carried. I think the truth is, our hearts are often fullest when we're carrying those around us. The beauty of carrying one another and building a home team where you're at is that YOU get to be the one to take the initiative & reach out - focus on the joy that is carrying others - and often in return you'll end up being carried. Don't wait to be carried.

WHEN YOU WALK WITH SOMEONE, LISTEN TO THEIR STORY, CARRY THEIR BURDEN, PLAY WITH THEIR KIDS - THAT'S COMMUNITY. WHEN YOU PRAY FOR THEM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BECAUSE THEIR FACE POPPED INTO YOUR MIND, WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF LEARNING FROM THEM & INVITING THEM MORE & MORE OFTEN INTO THE FAMILY PLACES IN YOUR LIFE, THAT'S COMMUNITY, AND WHEREVER YOU FIND IT, IT'S ALWAYS A GIFT.
Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

Sometimes community comes in the most unexpected places. Or at the most unexpected times. But it always requires vulnerability & stepping out of your comfort zones. Your home team will see your successes, but we have to be willing to let them see our hurts & failures too. If they're really on your team, they want to hurt and rejoice with you. They want to cry and to laugh with you.

I THINK A LOT OF GROUPS, CHURCH-BASED OR OTHERWISE, FAIL BECAUSE THEY CAN'T FIND THEMSELVES UNDER THE WEIGHT OF EXPECTATIONS PLACED UPON THEM. SOMETIMES, WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, WHEN WE START SMALL GROUPS OR ACCOUNTABILITY GROUPS OR LIFE GROUPS, WE SADDLE THEM WITH THE IDEA THAT THEY HAVE TO BE DEEPLY INTIMATE & TRANSFORMATIONAL RIGHT AT THE FIRST MEETING.
Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

So.much.truth in those words. Expectations are a great hinderance to all relationships. The truth is, over time, in a vulnerable & honest & trustworthy environment, our communities around us will become that intimate group of people that we long to share life with. It probably won't happen overnight. But it will happen over a lot of nights. Over a lot of sharing life together. Over a lot of opportunities to build trust and to show up. Over time you will realize that your community - your people - are invaluable. And you will rejoice in the great gift of community that God has blessed you with.

And that community might become your home team.

We have been praying for a long time that God would place us in the right community. Community where we can grow together - in all the ways. Community that we can carry & learn from. Community that can be our home team to love on.

And when I read the last quote above, it resonated so deeply within my heart. It left me with a longing to have our table full with friends & food & fellowship. It left me with a longing to reach out - to be brave in friendships - to love & to give without expecting anything in return.

But it also left me with a full heart. Because I see how the Lord is answering prayer & forming community around us & opening doors to deeper relationships with our people.

Our community looks like so many lovely things right now - with so much room to grow, but so much growth to be grateful for. It all started slowly & quietly last summer when a few girlfriends & I started gathering together to study God's Word. And, as God's Word has a way of working, it began to knit our hearts together as we fellowshipped & prayed for one another during the week. We all get excited about Thursday nights (it could be the fact that we're getting out of the house - it could be the dessert - it could be the stillness - it could be the time away from our kids - but I think it's mostly about the growth) and flurries of texts start flying back & forth about who's bring what treat to share. Fast forward to Christmastime & we decide to do a family together where we brought our husbands & all eleven (soon-to-be twelve) of our crazy loud kids together. And we shared a meal. It was crazy. And loud. But so good. The husbands huddled off in their own corner. Us girls mingled in & out of the kitchen & upstairs where the kids were playing. Relationships on all levels were growing & blossoming. And now we're talking about making those family dinners more of a regular practice for our little tribes - that's community forming. One mom in our group had the brilliant idea of starting a babysitting swap among ourselves so we could prioritize date nights with our husbands without the added pressure of paying a babysitter. So, we have a date set & we're diving in & just doing it - we don't know exactly what it's going to look like but we're going to work it out, together. One family is watching all the kids (bless them) for a couple hours one night while the rest of us sneak away for an uninterrupted meal. Another family will do it next month, and so on. We're carrying each other. It's not neat & clean or quiet & picture-perfect. But it's vulnerable & need-meeting & life-giving & communal. I wouldn't say we were intentional about forming this little community & making it work, but through one little intentional step of starting a Bible study a few months ago, we are now finding ourselves tasting the fruit of a community starting to take root - and it's growing & working, beautifully as only the Lord could create something.

I'm grateful for these people. Our people.

Whole Heart

Your Home Team

2015 Reading List

SEARCH

ARCHIVES