Easter and Community

Yesterday was Easter.

I am a Christian and, for me, it was the celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead and the forgiveness of sins that His death and resurrection bought. I celebrated today with my family and friends at church and afterward at a party with a friend who chose to be baptized.

I don't say this to preach to any who reads this because I hope the way that I live would reflect my beliefs to those I come in contact with. In addition, beliefs are an intensely personal choice that each and every individual must wrestle with. I would be happy to talk to anybody one on one about my beliefs, but I will not do that in a public forum.

I say all of this because Easter and our celebration of it has reminded me of the importance of being a part of a loving community of close friends where you are fully known and where you fully know others. This community will be small because we cannot be fully known or know others fully when there are too many people to get to know.

In this sort of community, several important things can happen. Part of being fully known is that there are close friends who will know the things about yourself and the things you've done that you consider ugly and shameful. And they will love you anyway. They'll help you work through forgiving others for what you perceive they've done to you. And they'll help you forgive yourself for things that you feel that you've done. And you'll help them do the same.

Building relationships to the point where they are this close requires a lot of wisdom in who you reveal yourself to and a purposeful pursuing of those people. And once at this point, maintaining such a relationship is also hard work. It requires a willingness to be hurt by the people you care about and the courage to forgive and continue pursuing.

Obviously, not all of your friends can be this close. There will be a spectrum of how close they are to you, ranging from someone you share all with (this will likely be your spouse or significant other) to those who know your hopes, fears, and dreams but not everything.

I encourage all of you to be purposeful about seeking out a close community of friends. You could seek them out where you find yourself spending your time and energy, whether that be church, hobbies or work. It will feel slow in coming, but I'd be willing to be you'll find yourself healthier in the long run.