Jay and I will be leaving Pittsburgh to make the 14 hour drive home to Missouri at 5am tomorrow morning. I should be packing, but decided blogging was more fun. This week we have had several reflective exercises with the community just to process this year and think about what we got out of it. It has been really helpful and meaningful. On Wednesday, we did an exercise where we just wrote about our experience. I wanted to share what I wrote, as it sums up the year and shows how formative this past year has been. It is by no means a comprehensive essay on the year, but it has some good thoughts in it. Enjoy, and we will see you Missourians very soon!
I entered this year with questions. Am I made for community? Is this the most fulfilling way for me to live life? Will I like the people I live with? Will I tolerate the food we eat? Will I find meaningful work and friendships outside of the house? Will I get what I am searching for this year, what we dropped everything back home to find?
Joyfully, at the end of this experience, I can answer all of these questions with a hardy yes. I fund community life to be the perfect fit for me. I felt far more fulfilled emotionally and spiritually through sharing my life so closely with seven other people and one golden retriever. The year confirmed that God designed my introverted self to be the most alive through intentional community.
Did I like the people I lived with? Absoulutely. They became family and dear friends far more quickly than I expected. It is so evidents that these eight people were hand selected by a mighty God to experience this intensive year together. The hardest part about leaving this place is leaving these people that I have bonded with over card games, food, prayer and tears. Thankfully, living so intentionally with them has bonded us for life. I look forward to exchanging letters with them and seeing where God leads their adventures. And, I know our paths will cross again, and that fact gives me peace.
It seems ridiculous that I even questioned whether I would like the food we ate this year. I have ate more interesting and delicious food this year than any other season of my life. From Dr. Seuss named foods to brand new vegetables that I have a hard time pronouncing – we have ate exceedingly well. The fellowship that was involved in every aspect of food – preparing it, serving it, eating it, cleaning up, buying it, etc. – brought great life and joy to all of us.
While our AmeriCorps placements were possibly not all we ever dreamed of and more, I did find meaning in that work, and at the same time found great friendships. After a week long training that felt a little like prison combined with a week in the principal’s office, friendships with two of my co-workers emerged that made work more pleasant and leaving more difficult.
I am happy to report that I got what I was longing for out of this experience in Formation House. Coming into this year, I was looking for a framework or a guide for how to live well in community so closely with other people. I wanted to leave this year feeling equipped and ready to start my own adventure into community life. I got all of that and so much more. I am excited to take this experience back to Missouri with me and see what happens.
Leaving Pittsburgh at 5am tomorrow is going to be a bittersweet moment. A moment that makes me thankful for email, facebook, skype and good old fashioned snail mail as we fully plan on creating fun ways to keep in touch with this community as we begin our next adventure.
Amber, I would really like to have a conversation with you sometime about some specifics of things you learned about living in community. From what I hear from people that have gone on the World Race, you barely spend a second away from your teammates. Which I am very excited about.
Sounds great, Jen. Feel free to call, email, Facebook, Skype, come up to Liberty, whatever works for you. I am a fan of the coming to Liberty option. 🙂