Learning to swim in a sea of disappointment

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Learning to live in a community is like learning to swim or drive. It is painful and dangerous and yet worth learning to do.

My father and mother spent all of their married years, over sixty, at the same congregation.

Being a part of a family is a set up for disappointment. Whether family or congregation or small group of intimate friends it is the same. It is not a matter of if you are going to be disappointed, but when.

If you leave when you get hurt you miss out on the beautiful way that God brings beauty out of ashes. Reconciliation and acceptance of people in spite of their problems is just too great to miss.

The courage to stay for the beautiful part is greatly enhanced by hanging out with people who know how to hang in there when the going gets tough.

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