Saturday, August 6, 2011

late night (or rather, early morning) thoughts

I have been thinking a lot about family these days. I spent the last two months living with them, and then they spent a day off from work helping me move and assemble my furniture. Sometimes I think I can take them for granted. I just assume that they will always be there.

But, in the last week, I have been thinking more about how short life can be. Friends of mine lost their father in an accident. This is far from the first time I have walked with friends who were facing loss or faced loss myself, but it is the first time I had the contrast of my family all being there to help me when I needed it while the news of my friends' loss was still fresh in my mind.

My family drives me up the wall sometimes - especially when I live with them - but I cannot imagine my life without them. I do not want to take for granted that they are there and that they will help me out when I need it. This past week has been a reminder that it can all change in an instant.

(OK, total change of thought direction here)

I have sometimes wondered if the emphasis on needing or wanting your own space in our culture can be a negative thing. It seems like people think you are strange if you have roommates for years and are more excited for you when you move into your own place. I have often thought that if community is a good thing and something God created us to need, then maybe this ideal of living on your own is not such a great thing despite what our culture may tell us.

But lately I have been thinking that living with other people is not required to be living life in community with others. A lot of it comes down to attitude. If our attitude is that we do not need people in our lives and we can do it all by ourselves, then maybe having a place of our own is not a good thing. But if our attitude is that we still need people in our lives and we make it intentional that we have other people in our lives, then maybe there is nothing really wrong with having a place of our own.

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