Surrounded with Community

One of the most profound experiences that a person can experience in life is true community. Most of us will never be in a point in our lives where we are completely removed from people, but in reading and watching the experiences of those that do, it is an eye opening look at ourselves and humanity as a whole.
One of my (Dan's) favourite book/movie is "Into The Wild." It chronicles the life of Chris McCandless and his final two years of life as he prepared for and headed into Alaska for his great adventure. Part of the adventure was to get away from people which he certainly accomplished. In the end he wound up perishing from an unknown cause. Before he passed away, he wrote that one of the things that brought him true happiness was being with people, rather than trying to live on ones own.
A similar thought was voiced by Ed Wardle, an adventurer from Scotland who spent a summer trying to live off the land in the Yukon. He lasted 50 days before calling his support team to come back. What brought him to that point more than anything else was the extreme loneliness that he felt. At one point he said that he just wanted to be with people-to see them and hug them. That was worse to Ed than the lack of food that he was suffering from.
The point that I'm trying to make is one that we all know well, people aren't meant to be on their own. More than that, people are meant to live in community with each. Which involves more than being on the same Facebook page, "liking" something with thousands of other users that we'll never meet in person and probably never interact with again.
The community that we have experienced in our lives has touched us in many deep and profound ways. The most recent event was all that was done for us after the birth of our son Joel. At our church it is normal for members to provide a week of meals for any new parent within the church, but on top of that our own family provided meals as well. The broader community also blessed us with offers of going to pick up groceries, more gifts than we ever could have expected, and in the support that they have given to us in other ways that I can't even think to put down.
It has come up in discussion with friends about how hard life is without community. Our midwife was telling us about this family that she had helped with the birth and how astounded they were when a neighbour came by to drop off a meal. They thought that they were going to be on their own and this little bit of unexpected help was amazing to them. It also plays out when a person moves into a new area. If that person is involved with a church or other organization, the transition is a lot easier. Getting into a church allows for access to an established (and usually welcoming) community. Some one who is not involved must try and find friends and community on their own which can be a difficult journey.
We can't imagine what life would have been like after Joel's birth if it wasn't for community. We would have had to prepare two weeks worth of meals, that were otherwise delivered to our door. We would have had to purchase every outfit Joel owns, as opposed to not having purchased anything for him yet. We would have had to find our own way to church that first Sunday morning, when Amanda could barely walk more than a hundred meters. We would have had to take a taxi to the hospital, if it weren't for our community blessing us with rides. I can't imagine those first few weeks without people knocking on our door, offering to hold Joel, giving us a break while we cleaned up or rested. Or even the most basic conversation that we would have missed if it wasn't for community. There is a reason that God sent shepherds and wise men to Jesus' birth-they were meant to celebrate. And that is what our community has done. Even this evening, as we walked into Starbucks, our barista Jess, loudly exclaimed, "You've had your baby!" She then proceeded to ask a million questions while offering us a congratulatory drink. Even this provides us with a sense of community.