May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 33:22
July 2011
Buna tuturor,[1]
You are receiving this letter as we are putting together the final details for two weeks of day-camp with the kids at the internat in July. Will you be getting away for a few days this summer with family or friends? Be it camping or cross-country traveling, I hope you are able to take a few days of rest during this beautiful time of year.
Two weeks ago our community had a retreat in a town north of Chişinău. Sandwiched between the last day of school and a trip to Odessa with the servant team, I looked forward to a break from the norm. Sunday, the morning reflection was about what it means to love each other. Here are a few of my notes from that reflection:
Love for others moves from ideal to real in community…and it is really hard.
We hurt each other. Forgiveness becomes the most often met form of love. So, we must forgive and also recognize our need for forgiveness, which also hurts.
Community is the context of God’s love.
God says when we love brothers and sisters and neighbors, we love God.
Community is the context in which the love of God is made known.[2]
In light of this, it seems fitting how man and woman go through this beautiful and self-denying process of marriage and becoming one. It also struck me how much as a single person I need community. Community may take the form of a family, church, or for me, the teammates and children I work alongside everyday. As often as I find myself fighting to be independent and capable, I must really work to love the people right next to me. I must ask for forgiveness, encourage, honor, and love. But all these actions are empty without the grace of God given in how he loves us and enables me to love.
And so, as the summer begins and we pray together about the summer and following school year, I am challenged again to let go of my pride, and trust in God’s deep love as it changes and shapes me in the context of community. Please keep us in your prayers as we plan for the future and learn to love each other in the present reality.
Take care,
Annie
Vista from the monastery at Orheiul Veche. Photo credit: Laurel Moline.
[1] Doesn’t that sound like you are students? Actually, it simply means “Hello Everyone”.
[2] These notes are taken from a reflection by David Chronic, WMF Regional Coordinator for Europe and Africa.