My family just moved to a new city for my husband’s job, and I’m tired, even if I don’t really want to admit that. As a family, we are feeling positive about the move, but everything is a new puzzle here: house, church, school, directions, furniture… and don’t even get me started on the post office and garbage pick-up.

Amidst all the work of packing up one house and setting up another one, there is a relentless and unruly to-do list. Conquering this to-do list is like trying to eat all my black-eyed peas so I won’t get in trouble; I hate black-eyed peas. In addition, the big questions lurk. Will our middle school daughter find Godly friends? Will I? What’s it going to be like for my husband and his new job? How long will it take to find a church home and really get plugged in? How long will I have to use the GPS? (Well, that one isn’t very big, just annoying.)

In the midst of the frenzy, there has been one thing that has provided rest and comfort: sharing a meal with friends. We sat still for a while, and that’s not easy to do during a move. We sat across the table to talk, to listen, to share, to pray, and to be with each other face to face. It was just nice. There is something so holy about being with a small group of friends who know me and who care enough to be supportive during such a drastic transition. 

This time of communion makes me appreciate God’s design, not only of the more formal communion we participate in on Sundays, but the less formal, yet possibly more formative communion we share with each other. Les Taylor, a former student and missionary to Japan, recently shared a Facebook post contrasting the emphasis on numerical growth with spiritual growth. Below is an excerpt:

Every Sunday after worship at the Matsudo church, we have an opportunity for the members to share reflections from their lives over the past week. We share areas of both struggle and gratitude, but people will also share areas where God has been working in their hearts. In one case, a member shared how they were able to let go of a longstanding grudge and forgive someone close to them. In another recent case, a member shared how Jesus' teaching enabled them to give encouraging advice to a friend rather than the typical worldly wisdom which would hurt relationships. We've seen many other cases like these which have all displayed clear steps toward spiritual maturity. What has changed is not just a belief system or knowledge of rules. Neither is it simply better behavior. We're seeing people truly enter into Kingdom ways of thinking, their hearts transformed into the image of Jesus.

Isn’t this a lovely picture of what it means to be in communion with each other? The author of the post wasn’t really talking about spending time with each other like I am. However, this type of conversation doesn’t happen among strangers. I don’t have to be told that this church family spends time with each other, sharing meals, conversation, and life. It’s clear they do.

I’m not sure what puzzles you are facing right now; I’m only sure there is no shortage of them. Do yourself and others a favor and sit still, share a meal, and have some good conversation. Being Jesus in this way will heal far more than we might realize. I’ll leave you with Jesus’ words from Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”