Belonging and Believing

Last month volunteers for Popes Museum served over 400 meals-100 of which went to recent tornado victims.

It wasn’t my family alone that printed the tickets, bought and sold the tickets, ordered or donated the food,served the meal or cleaned up the meal. It was people who believed. They believed in the project; they believed in the people; they believed in our purpose. So many people believed that we literally had the last meal go to the last volunteer after serving the entire 400 meals. Who made this happen? It was this community.

A short two days later, Pope’s Museum open house hosted people from all over the area. Many of them came because they heard about this local attraction through a FB post, a news article or a local neighbors. There were those who heard about it from the earlier dinner, and those who heard on the evening news. Some even returned again the same day with another carload. Why? Because these people believe in belonging to a community.

I’ve learned a lesson from these folks. If you are blessed enough to live in a town where your family has lived for generations, be thankful and be there. If you are a recent transplant to a new location, embrace the community where you live now. Embrace where you are at this moment and belong there, not where you once were.

You are not there anymore, you are here. Be here

Years ago I was a 33 year old wife and mother of 2 children transplanted from a community I loved to one that was difficult to love. Looking back from a distance of 20 years, I realize now that the hours upon hours I spent emailing my friends, mourning how lonely and isolated I was, were wasted hours that I could have been spent making connections there. Even though we lived there 13 months I did not make a single relationship.

WASTED OPPORTUNITY

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Never again.

Life is richer when one has a sense of belonging. You can choose to belong. That choice is what made people come out early on a Thursday morning and spend the entire day over a huge propane heated purlieu pot.

It was the joy of catching up with an old friend.

The choice to belong was what made generations from 10 years old to 87 years old don latex gloves and debone scalding chicken fresh out of the cast iron pots. It was hearing stories about their community years ago, confirming that the faces age, but the anchor of community remains the same.

Belonging and Serving others is woven into community. In fact, the etymology of community is "with service or obligation". Belonging leads to serving. Yet we are the ones who are enriched by serving, by actively believing in the cause, the organization or the ministry. Whether your community is small town America or a vast apartment complex, be there. Whether it is a condo committee or a city wide outdoor concert, belong there. Whether you prefer a large congregation or a small synagogue, invest there. Belonging in our lives now and here, instead of triumphs or trials from another time or another place, empowers you to discover your place, strengthen your community, become enriched by serving and the cycle continues.