I’ve been reflecting on a lot of things that have happened these past two months since I’ve started Fellows here in Raleigh. So much in fact that I’ve had no idea what to write about for this. After many ideas and many erased paragraphs, it finally hit me. The thing that I’ve enjoyed the most and found rest in my schedule has been my friends.
I’ve been in community with 11 other fellows and our director, Ashley for the past two months. I’ve never had community like this before and it was something that really did draw me to the program. Last month I was a little apprehensive of everyone else. But after spending so much time with them, I realized that all my apprehension was me over thinking things.
Time with everyone looks like eating supper together and being in class together. But it also looks like serving together and going to Halloween parties together and celebrating birthdays with each other. Its been such a joy to see some people go all in on all these things we’ve been doing. Even when I have been feeling drained living the busyness of our schedule, watching my friends be full and thriving in all of these things have allowed me to keep going because I get to see their joy.
On Mondays the guys get together to watch football. I really don’t care about sports. At all. But weirdly enough that is where I find most of my rest is guy night on Monday. It’s a time to just be with each other in a smaller setting and a time where I get to just sit down and not have to worry about my busy schedule. It feels simple but its one of the things I look forward to every week. Guy time has been a very special time week and allows for a lot of vulnerability between the 6 of us.
This past week has been an easy week and allowed for me to have a lot of free time, but I found just as much rest being with my friends as I did alone and doing my own hobbies. Of course I always want to have time to myself, but I definitely have found out that my community recharges me with their joy. Jesus has allowed me to have a community of people that love me well and allow me to be myself and after being with them for the last two months, I couldn’t imagine being without them.
-Dyl