Shake it Off

                   

Last night was a special night for one of the members of the Bolivar house community. Our friend Grace, who lived at the house until 2014, celebrated her August wedding to her husband Chris at a small reception for family and friends. The Schmeeckle clan, Jon and Anna, and myself all attended the renewal ceremony and reception, which turned out to be just as fun as we'd been anticipating. 

I am so inspired by the love that Grace and Chris share, both with each other and with their children, who Grace adopted from the same orphanage in Bulgaria as Jon and Anna's son Simon. They are a true example of God's love lived out, and I feel blessed to call them friends. 

Now, don't call me a cynic, but I've never been a big fan of wedding receptions. I love cake, don't get me wrong. Cake is literally one of my favorite foods (ask anyone). But unless you go with a date or a group of friends, it ends up being a lot of sitting and people watching (and drinking). Of course, this could just be me. You see, until recently I haven't been the most confident person. I've gone to a handful of weddings over the past five years, all of family friends (to which I go with my parents and my sister and brother-in-law) or of college friends (to which I go with a car full of friends generally). It's not awful, but because I wasn't confident, I tended to sit at my table most of the evening at each wedding.

That, however, was not the case this time. I've gained a lot of confidence in the last year, the last six months really, and it's been life-changing. So, at last nights reception, I was finally able to get out of my head and dance my butt off. I couldn't have been in better company, because as it turns out, Anna likes to dance her butt off too. After the beautiful ceremony and the fantastic meal, Anna and I found our way to the dance floor and cut a rug together. And if that wasn't enough fun, Deb even joined us! It was the most fun I've had in a long time. 

It's amazing what living in community can do for you, both as a person and as a group of people. I'd like to believe that I would have been just as comfortable dancing if Anna hadn't been there dancing with me. But it was a whole lot easier to let loose and shake it on the dance floor with her shaking it right alongside me. 

That's the perfect picture of what community living is to me: walking (or dancing) alongside one another, rejoicing together in our joys and supporting each other through our lows...and dancing together whenever possible.