I re-opened Larry Crabb's Safest Place on Earth this morning while prepping for a Journey Bible Class for next month. Larry starts chapter 6 with the following quotes. Thought they were worth sharing.

Our life is full of brokenness - broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives? - Henri Nouwen

King David cried out, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." Psalm 139.23

• Isn't that counter-intuitive to us? We tend to hold God responsible for not making our lives work they way we think it should work. We tend to distance ourselves from God in our brokenness, thinking we need to fix something or ourselves before we can enter his presence.
• Henri and David got it right: when we bring our brokenness to God, asking to be fully known, then we fully know his presence.

Community is a place of pain, of the death of ego. In community, we are sacrificing independence and the pseudo-security of being closed up. We can only live this pain if we are certain that for us being in community is our response to a call from God. If we do not have this certitude, then we won't be able to stay in community. - Jean Vanier

Jesus prayed we would be "one," united around him. That we would reflect his communal image.

• It's more than a calling, it's our design. We were made for community - with our Creator and with each other.
  
• Our only hope for thriving through our brokenness is to find wholeness in and as the Body of Christ - community with each other.

I'm starting my day here. Challenged and grateful. Challenged to bring all my brokenness into trusting community and grateful for my family and friends who provide the community where I can.

Who's your community? How will you find release from bitterness and wholeness in interdependence inside of those relationships?

Mark Waltz is pastor of connections at Granger Community Church in Granger, IN. He is the author of First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church and Lasting Impressions: From Visiting to Belonging. He consults and trains in the areas of guest services and relational connections in the local church. Catch his blog and contact him at becausepeoplematter.com. Follow him on twitter at http://twitter.com/MarkLWaltz