Community

One of the main reasons why I'm so excited about moving nearer to my school in Port Orange is so that Steve and I get a chance to develop a mutual community. He has friends at his school in Orlando, and I have friends at my school in Port Orange. Although we've met a handful of each other's friends...we don't have common friends with whom we spend time. In fact, since we both commute we don't spend a whole lot of time with other people aside from going to class and going to church. Church is probably our closest thing to a community of mutual friends, but our involvement there is minimal (part of the sacrifice of being full-time grad students). Although we've almost made it a year of living in a commuting routine and lifestyle, it is becoming wearisome on the part of the soul that craves friendship and community. As a result, I am extremely appreciative of the limited, yet significant community we had while we lived in Oklahoma...and that's saying a whole lot!

As I've grown in my Christian maturity, God has placed me in various situations. The ones I cherished the most were when I was surrounded by friends who shared similar beliefs and who enjoyed the same activities. These close knit communities were the strongest when I first became a Christian in college (friends in ROTC, Crusade, church, the dorm, and class); and continued to when I was still single and a brand new lieutentant in the Air Force (Officer Christian Fellowship, friends living at the same apt complex, church). Then, Steve and I got married and moved to Oklahoma--finding community with a highly variable work schedule and dearest friends living 20-45 min drive away was TOUGH. But, Steve and I grew in our marriage and time together...and he reminded me that I didn't need to be isolated from everyone in my safe and secure and familiar cocoon of Christian friends.

So, here we are in Florida and what does God want me to do? I thought my job was to go to school and to do my very best for God's glory. Although I LOVE the academics and everything I'm learning to prepare to become a chiropractor, I miss community and close friendships, and I miss sharing those same friendships with my husband. We truly desire to once again live in a place where friends are only minutes away, and where they feel at ease dropping by to say hello at anytime. We want to plug into the community again instead of being studyholics that seldom see the sun.