One Question, Five Voices: Lent Week One

So you know that crazy Lenten blog-challenge-marathon my friends and I undertook last year?

It's back by popular demand! This time with fewer posts that are (hopefully) full of more thought. This year, ReThink Church has posed one question each week of the Lenten season:

This week's question:
What are the basic needs in your community? How might you participate in meeting those needs?

Ahhh, community. That word always make me feel all cozy because of the people who are in mine that come to mind. Because that's what community is, right? It's not just the place you live, it's the people you surround yourself with. It's at work. It's in your neighborhood. It's at church. It's your family. It's your circle of friends. That's what community is...being in relationship with one another. Loving one another.

Being part of a close community forces you to want to look outside yourself and see the needs in others around you. When they need something, the response becomes an automatic "how can I help?" or "how are you?" It's not obligation. It's automatic because of the way you feel about each other. It's automatic because of the relationship community fosters.

In a tight community, you understand each other's basic needs and can respond quickly. A friend's son is having surgery and needs a prayer. A co-worker needs help with an excel spreadsheet from hell. A child needs a little boost of confidence pep-talk. A friend needs a ride to the airport.

Those things may sound insignificant, but sometimes the little things are the biggest ones that make you feel connected, supported and loved. And meeting those needs makes all the difference.

_________________________________________________________________________________

This post is one of five points-of-view on the same topic. Check out what my friends think of this week's question on their blogs: Shawn, Heather, Steph and Brian.