A great example of community
My friend, Renata, at “Nurturing Notes” has recalled an incident that is a great example of community in her post called “Two are better than one“. What was this great example? Two people processing vegetables. That’s right… processing vegetables. Renata had vegetables; here friend had a food processor. Between them, they processed vegetables and shared in community. Wouldn’t it have been better for Renata to get her own food processor? Couldn’t she get more vegetables processed if she had her own? This is what Renata said:
Sure, it was nice to have most of my vegetables in more usable condition, as well as tasting fresh salsa and hummus. But I must say, the highlight of the day was the sharing of resources, the conversation, and watching our kids have fun with one another. Although we didn’t really have much of a plan, we had a lot of fun. I also get energized interacting with people. Usually (like tonight) I am so ready to wind down, so I often want to put off cleaning the kitchen. Last night, however, was not the case. Cleaning my kitchen was an act of gratitude and appreciation for the generosity that was extended to us, as well as the opportunity to share with one another, without demanding or expecting anything else in return.
This was a great antidote to the pull of commercialism. And so often, we live lives in parallel with others, but not in community. By combining our resources, my friend and I were able to accomplish more than we could have individually, with the added bonus of the satisfaction that only comes from companionship.
I wouldn’t trade this for having a food processor any day.
We won’t find community as long as we only look in the special events of our lives – even in our weekly church meetings. Instead, we find community in the normal, everyday, sharing of our lives. I’ve written more about this, and will share it in a post that will be published for tomorrow. So, thank you Renata for a wonderful illustration for my blog post for tomorrow. And, thank you for “sharing in the life” with us as well.
Thank you Alan for the heads up to this particular entry. It falls in line with the ethos of church as community life that deals in the normal more than anything else and as I get to grips with some trying situations the opportunity to do life like this is so simple, normal and yet challenging in actually getting people out of a mentality that does not recognise it for what it is.