The Value of Community
In Spite of People’s Irritations
A problem with us introverts is our penchant for solitude and running on our own steam. Such a proclivity has a certain upside (quietening our noisy worlds) but it does leave us open to the menacing shoals of isolation. I found this reminder in my phone of my Bolivian friends from a pre-pandemic moment.
I need to keep listening to them and how they remind me of the benefits of working and walking together in community.
We shall not be saved by anything less than commitment and the commitment will not be effective unless it finds expression in a committed fellowship. If we have any knowledge of human nature, we begin by rejecting the arrogance of self-sufficiency. Committed women and men need the fellowship not because they are strong, but because they are—and know they are—fundamentally sinful and weak. (Elton Trueblood, The Company of the Committed)
From the first sentence I was nodding my head! I'm also a strongly introverted person. It's tough to balance knowing that I need fellowship with also LOVING solitude. But as the other commenter said, it's about the quality of the solitude and listening to God's prompting when He wants me to engage with the world.
Well said Lorraine—‘alone but not alone’—a very true observation.