Generous Community

Generous Community

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Kendra, Kristin, and I attended a writer’s conference that was billed as part networking opportunity with other authors and part teaching sessions on a wide variety of writing topics. We were longing for author friends—women who loved books and words as much as we did, who were a step or three further along in their writing journey and able to answer questions, give guidance, and offer encouragement.

Our secret fear, of course, was that we would be exposed as imposters, called out by “real” authors, snubbed because what we write wasn’t enough when measured against some secret author test we didn’t yet know about. What we found instead was a community of women and men who were lavish in sharing wisdom, ideas, and encouragement. In our case, it was about writing, but it could have been any skill set, hobby, or industry we were hungry to learn more about. We witnessed women with twenty years of experience chatting over key lime pie with newbies, listening carefully and offering suggestions when the new girl was stuck. Everywhere we turned, we saw women making sure the quiet girl was invited to dinner, for outings, for chats in the lobby. While we arrived hoping for a friend or two, we left the conference with an entire community of authors—numerous new friends who loved Jesus and words and who were generous in their support of one another.

The secret to building a strong, deeply rooted community is generosity: generosity in the sharing of wisdom; generosity in genuine, no-strings-attached support of another’s project; generosity in inviting others to sit at your proverbial table. We serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and there is more than enough for all of us. When we understand that our heavenly Father does not operate from an attitude of scarcity, we can be lavishly generous in our own circles and communities, knowing that God will provide even as we pour out. And when we are generous, we prosper.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Practice lavish generosity, asking God to show you what that looks like.