i'm posting.
its been a while since my last post.

i am frequently aprehensive about posting because i am constantly discovering and re-discovering the definition of community and what it means in my life.

as i sit here blogging, i am at work. i know, tis-tis penny, tis-tis. for those of you who don't know I work at the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality- it is a men's homeless shelter here in moorhead, mn. the house was built in 1908 and is beautiful. Back in the day i'm sure it belonged to the mayor or a rich doctor or someone to that status...currently it houses up to ten men who are homeless or in a temporary spot of struggle.
sometimes when i am at work i try and imagine what this house was like before it was a shelter. i picture little kids dressed in their nice clothing, with curly golden locks of hair, sitting with their parents by the fireplace in the living room. this is my stereotypical midwestern, high society family that i imagine. but this family loves each other; they talk and they laugh alot.
in the midst of my thoughts and daydreams, i realize that this house hasn't changed much. sure there are no curly, golden hair children living here, but there are men who have laid down their lives for the Lord, men who struggle with addiction, men who don't know where to go or how to change their situations. there are men in community with each other, building each other up with encouragement and love everyday. it amazes me to see how the Lord touches my heart through these guys here- they are showing me what community really is.
it's beautiful.
in this big , old, brown house, community is beautiful and intense.