Authentic Community

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As I mentioned before, September I am focusing on allowing room for my heart to be changed. September is a month where fall makes its grand entrance- leaves begin to change, temperatures start to drop, and our iced coffees turn to hot brews. In this month of change, I also want to focus on being true to myself.

I am at a point in my life where I don’t want to tip toe around people, pretending to put my best foot forward. I yearn for authentic relationships- and authenticity requires vulnerability.

Moving to New York has been so good for Caleb and my relationship. It has pushed us outside of our comfort zones while we dig into intentional living. We are forced to turn to Jesus as we stumble to build our lives together.

After starting our marriage in an eight-month long intensive Bible Study, we quickly learned the importance of having a strong community. While we did have some very close friends in Thailand, our local Christian community was lacking. Now that we are back in America, we are diving in head first.

One of the couples we recently befriended shared all the ‘ugly’ in their relationship within an hour of our first double date. To say this kind of honesty was refreshing would be an understatement. She openly stated that she didn’t want to start a relationship based on false appearances, as she wants real, meaningful relationships in her life.

If you follow me on Instagram or on this blog, you may have read my confession that the past few months have been really hard for me. The kind of vulnerability our new friends shared is exactly what my heart craves.

This kind of authenticity creates the opportunity for accountability as we stumble together after the Lord. I truly believe in the importance of community. We need people to pour truth into us and to call us out when we go astray.

I mentioned on September 1, one of my goals for the month is to join a women’s Bible study. While I do have this kind of community in other states, I am still praying for the Lord to open the doors for our community to grow here in New York.

Do you have this kind of community or a woman in your life you can turn to? Someone to stand alongside you and to call you out in love?

What does community look like to you?