The Encouragers Life

Disclaimer:  Details have been omitted or slightly changed to protect those involved.   I tell this story solely from my perspective. I pass that section of the road often.  Even though I have moved out of the town it seems to come up on my route to and from my destinations. After it first happened, the place gave me chills and sweats as I remembered the day I would have  likely   died. But for some reason, it has now become the place where I remember God's hand on my life the most vividly. It was late at night and a person I had known for years was visiting me.  I had just returned from dinner with my family and Malcom decided to have a few drinks. I knew that Malcom and drinking did not mix very well and true enough a disagreement broke out.  I stupidly begged him to let me drive him home.   I should have never got in the car with him. The argument continued as I tried to fix the issue, 'I had caused,' but trying to smooth things over just made the car ride more rough. I

I have been there. Not knowing what went wrong. Wondering if I was the issue. Replaying the event over and over to try and figure out what I did. Getting hurt in a community is common.  It doesn't make it right, but it does mean we are not alone when we struggle with togetherness. We are a collection of humans that misunderstand, are undergoing growth and can become frustrated with each other.   What I have learnt about community through my many, many problems and scars from it, can maybe encourage you not to give up quite yet, or, to embark on a journey to discover the people who you can truly do life with. That’s start at the beginning.  What is community? It can take many forms. For most, the first community we have are our families. We gain insights on human interactions and social cues from the folks we spend the formative years with.  Either we make a list of what we want to replicate in the future communities we will choose to be part of like, friendships, relationships, bes