On Communities.

There are a lot of things I love about being Mormon. But one of the things I love the most is the way that Mormons join together. When people talk about ward families, it's not just the group of people you go to church with everyday, it really is an extension of your family. The picture above is of my ward family on the night of our seminary graduation; I can honestly say that they are family to me. We've grown up together, been awkward together, and stuck together through thick and thin because that's what we do as a ward family- we stick together.

I was recently thinking about this because I joined a group on facebook that's a little support network of girls who have missionaries (I know, I'm one of those girls now). I was so not going to ever do this because...Well, I'm not really "waiting" as is typical in mormon culture. I've been dating, enjoying life, and heck, even got really close to marriage with a boy! So I thought, "Can't join that community. I'm not one of them." But the thing is, I got over my pride, joined, and instantly found people in my same situation. It was amazing. With welcoming arms they let me into the group and I started enjoying feeling like I was part of a community again; we all have different "waiting" situations, but there is overlap in our experiences that make it possible for us to reach out to one another (plus, with the year mark rapidly approaching, I feel like a "wise one". ha!).

I think that it's great to have any sort of community. For me, I am lucky enough to find it in my church. For others, it may be through their blogs. And for still others, it may be in their actual community. Any way you find it, it boils down to this: we need each other. We can't just mosey through life alone. There's a reason we come to this world in families. There's a reason we find friends and stick to each other. There's a reason why we, as Mormons, are organized into ward units.

It's almost silly how common sense this all seems and yet it was like this huge realization for me this week. Communities rock. The end.

Love always,
Ems