Community

Community is a very valuable thing that I think I have taken for granted. To be surrounded by people with a shared mindset. Where you encourage one another and challenge one another in truth and love. Being on a ship this has been a bit of a challenge. I have some great friends on the ship. I am so thankful for my friend Erika and the encouragement she has been to me. It has really been a blessing. I still miss having a church family though. Being a part of a small group. Sharing our relationship with the Lord with one another. I miss it. We as humans ,and especially as Christians, are designed for community. We are made for being with other believers and designed to encourage one another. I think before I was on the ship I took for granted the people I had in my life that I could always talk to about anything. Those people who loved me no matter what, but would always encourage me and challenge my thoughts to if nothing else help me understand and realize why I believe what I believe. I miss being able to share my struggles with a brother and him come along side me and say, “the Lord has you in his arms, he is in control, just let go”. I have those friends still that I call and chat with about this. The distance is hard though. They aren’t here with me, so it makes things difficult. Tonight, I had a great talk with my love about this and it was so nice to share my heart on the subject and cry and pray for one another. What a blessing my other half is. I am so thankful for having that as a part of my relationship. Having a foundation in our love for the Lord that brings us closer and allows us to have a stronger foundation in our relationship. On top of this, I have been just feeling kind of low lately. The hard thing about a ship is that you can end up spending most of your time in your cabin doing nothing. For me it is hard because I start to worry and over think things. Then I get in a funk and start feeling the effects of a bit of depression. If I let myself spiral down I end up becoming more and more reclusive and that just leads to more stress and worry and a cycle that is hard to break. So, I am starting to make a list of things I am going to do every day. ( this is something my love does that I am going to try out) In order for me to be more productive and active during my free time, I am going to start adding some hobbies and physical activities to fill my days more. I am going to start learning more about photography and painting. Those are 2 things that are fairly cheep that I enjoy doing. I can paint in my cabin and when I get off at ports I can take pictures and really experiment with different types of pictures and angles. Should be fun! On top of that I am going to talk with my 2 friends from the Miracle and a couple other fellow believers and see if they would be interest in doing a small bible study once a week. I think a combination of all these things and continued quality communication with my love and close friends will really help me lead a more healthy and happy life here on the ship. So, here’s to a new resolution for me life here and now. Thank you to all of those people in my life who are constant encouragements to me and share my joys and my burdens. You are dearly loved and appreciated. To my other half, thank you for being so great and so kind and so good. You uplift my heart with every conversation we have. I Love You.