Learning to live in community

I have a sense that this topic is gonna come up a lot in my conversation this year; and really, I don't care because that IS my experience this year. And not just a small part-a REALY REALLY big part. I am blessed to be a part of something that began a long long time ago...a vision, to allow people to live in community with one another relatively cheaply and learn the art of Christian love. Today we had what is called "The Home/Mansion Vision Party". It is where we get together for a couple hours and eat pizza and learn how these community houses came into existence. There is a lot of history behind it all and it makes me grateful to be a part of it. There has been a lot invested into creating an environment for believers to grow in love. If you're wondering what I mean, the fact is that you quickly find when you live with others that any selfish action you take effects the lives of everyone else you live with. When I don't put my hair in the trash in the community bathroom and you live in a house with 16 girls, a lot of hair piles up on the bathroom floor and sink. You have to take into consideration how every action effects others. When I don't take time to keep the house clean, everyone has to suffer as a result of it. When I eat all of our cheese in the house, no one else gets cheese for the week. When I talk all the time and don't listen, others don't get to be heard and don't feel loved. When I don't stop to be kind, others don't ever get to receive Christlike treatment, thus wondering if we actually try to be like Him or just pretend.