You Can't Do It Alone

 Today's society tends to promote the concept of being an island.  We find ways to separate ourselves from others rather than being part of a community.  We build tall fences around our yards to keep others out.  "Too often we start out to build a nest in which to live, from which to fly and to which we return; sometimes we get so involved in building that we eventually build a cocoon completely around ourselves creating a prison." – Fred W. Smith

Everybody needs somebody.  None of us achieves anything without the help from others.  We all need friends who can help us to persevere through the tough times.  We don't grow in isolation. 

We hope to be a friend when you are going through those difficult times.  We want to be a resource of encouragement and of hope to lift your spirit when it is needed.  We want to be a part of your personal community.

The great Muir redwoods have a remarkable root system.  These trees do not grow like pines or oaks with individual root systems.  Rather, their root systems, while relatively shallow, are completely interconnected.  The trees themselves are all outgrowths of a parent tree and they grow around the parent tree in a complete circle.  That circle is called a "cathedral."  One of their keys to survival is their ability to hold each other up with these merged roots.  No known wind can topple them.  Virtually no disease can kill them.  They thrive in fires.  They are knit together inextricably and bound together in the longest living family on record.

That is my image of community.  It is not just support from a distance or a noble feeling.  It is the realization that we are bound up together for life and woven together through our roots that hold us all up through everything that comes.  Not only can we not do it alone, more importantly, we are not meant to do it alone.

"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." - Philippians 2:4

Worth Considering