Building better friendships was one of my new years resolutions this year. In high school and college I had an abundance of friends surrounding me. I love social situations and I love building relationships, but since a lot of our friends have moved away in recent years since college it has really been a struggle to feel like we are a part of a community.
In January we made the decision to leave Flood, where we'd gone to church for the last 5-7 years. Throughout 2009 we had been looking for a new church, but we had a really hard time finding one where we felt like we fit in. The first weekend of January Daryll saw an ad on facebook (of all places) for a brand new church in San Diego. So new, in fact, that it's first official service was happening that Sunday. City Bible Church has become our new home and our lives have been so greatly blessed and enhanced by the community that we've come to be a part of there. It is so nice to be a part of a church where the Pastor actually knows who you are (and plays in our fantasy football league!).
My thinking about community and building relationships has shifted in this past year as well. Ever since studying abroad my junior year of college, I've had a slight tugging of resentment inside of me that my friends had moved on without me here. I felt forgotten and excluded both while I was abroad and upon my return. In reality, I have many more great friends from high school than college and it is probably for that exact reason. This last year, with my new years resolution in tact, I set out to change my attitude and build better relationships. I just read a great article yesterday that sums up how I've been feeling. You can read it on the (In)Courage blog here. Basically, I need to stop wallowing in self-pity and put myself out there! Opening up our home has been a big part of that. Daryll and I have always loved entertaining and I absolutely love having a full (OVERFLOWING!) home! It's the best way I can show people that I care about them and care about our friendship. Another blog that I have been reading that has really been encouraging me in this matter is the Reluctant Entertainer. What a phenomenal attitude she has about being a blessing to others and building connections through entertaining!
I hope to continue building connections at CBC in the next year. I would love to develop some lasting and most importantly, real and raw relationships. What's the best way to do that? To be real with myself. And vulnerable.
On another note, I'd also like to find a creative community to become a part of, whether through photography, scrapbooking, or other crafts! I want to be inspired by and be an inspiration to others in 2011!
Thanks for being our friend!
1 comments:
Sure has been a great year!
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