I’d kind of forgotten what it was like to live with someone… to have that constant companionship, constant feedback. Now that Carrie and Seth have been living with me for a consistent month, I’m starting to come alive in different ways. I am such a social person and even though I finally learned to be alone and really be ok with it, it is so good for me to be surrounded by a community. It’s so good for the kids too.

Earlier this week our neighbors opened up to us about something going on in their lives. As she told us their heartbreaking story, her voice broke and tears came to her eyes. And tears immediately came to my eyes too. There is something so significant about moments of vulnerability, when someone lets you into their pain, or their joy. When you’re vulnerable with someone you open up your heart to them and in turn give them a chance to open up their heart to you. When someone is vulnerable with you, it connects your heart in unexplainable ways and you start to see them differently. I think vulnerability is the only way to have real, deep relationships. The situation turned completely around for our neighbors and yesterday they were able to tell us their happy news, again bringing us all to tears.

The lesson that I’m learning is that more than anything, we were made to live in community. We were made to share in people’s heartaches and celebrations. We aren’t islands. Life is about mourning and dancing and so many times we are doing both at the same time. And that means that life can be really messy. I am eternally thankful for the friends who have walked with me through my mourning, who loved me when my life was such a beautiful mess…the friends who celebrated with me a month ago when a new chapter in my life began. I’m thankful that I’ve been learning to open my heart up and let people see my pain because that has connected me to them in amazing ways. I know now that this is the only way I can do relationships – everything else is a counterfeit to the real thing. It’s so hard to open yourself up and make yourself vulnerable. But it’s always, always worth the risk. Living in community is always worth the risk.