7 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 5

This is kind of related to yesterday's post, but I'm not cheating! Over the last three years, I have become acutely aware of how important it is to be a part of a community...To surround yourself, whereever you are and however you do it, with a group of people who care about something bigger than themselves, who are committed to caring about you and "keeping it real," as it were.

Despite what we tell ourselves and what the flashy billboards screaming "rugged individualism" tell us, we are not meant to go through life alone. We're not meant to struggle, make decisions, celebrate, or love in isolation. We can tell ourselves we're okay on our own all we want, but that doesn't change the fact that we need each other to give a hug, lend a hand, call us out, or help others together.

I honestly believe that being a part of the Convergence community has changed the direction of my life, and it has had a profound impact on the direction of my life with Scott as the Girgishmelsons (you have to have the "h" in there to make it sound right). It definitely played a big part in my decision to pursue a career in social work, and it has been so amazing to see how real, authentic, and powerfully changing life with God and life with others can be. Yesterday, I spent the morning helping set up for "ReThread," the free clothing store we do several times a year for the kids in the neighborhood. Families come in, are greeted with a smile and maybe a hug, and they get paired up with a "co-shopper" who takes them around to find the sizes they need and helps them try on clothes just like they would in a real "store." Yesterday, we gave out over 160 coats (I had to leave shortly after the store opened, but it was awesome nonetheless) to kids who would have otherwise been cold this winter. But as always, it is one of the most amazing feelings to look around and see this group of people who love each other dearly extending that love just as authentically to others.

The point of this isn't to say how awesome Convergence is or how "selfless" or "giving" these people are; it's simply me saying how thankful I am to be part of such a real community in the midst of a lot of "fake." They've seen me happy, sad, vulnerable, excited, inspired, scared, and everything in between...and I know they'll be there through everything else. Yesterday I had a scary thought: "What if we hadn't met them? What if we had just gone through the last 3 years alone?" What if we hadn't met them? I wouldn't have a lot of the passion for justice and true life with God that I have now, and I definitely wouldn't have laughed as much. I've probably gotten weirder, too. I don't know what our lives would look like, but I know for sure it wouldn't be this. And that's DEFINITELY a good thing.

I Like...Threads

About once every season, our church puts on an event called Threads. Essentially, it is a free clothing closet for families who need clothes for their children, but it's really so much more. All items are donated, but only high-quality, attractive, and lightly used (i.e. unstained) clothes are up for grabs. We set the space to look like a "store," a la Baby Gap or Gymboree. Cute Easter dresses are hung from the ceiling, shoes are arranged into adorable displays, bright swimsuits are arranged in the window, and upbeat music plays from the speakers. When people enter the store, they are greeted with refreshments and a card to fill out with their name, children's names, and sizes. They are then assigned a "co-shopper," who takes them around the store, helps them find sizes, makes the kids feel excited about their new clothes, and gets to know them on a different level. The idea is that families from the neighborhood, who probably think of clothes-shopping as stressful or as a reminder that they can't provide their kids with what so many other kids are obsessed with, can come shop for high-quality clothes in an environment where they are welcomed, paid attention to, and valued.

The faces of the kids who come to shop are priceless when they pick out their new polo shirt, bright pink tutu dress, or good-as-new Pumas. I think all the time how I put too much value on clothes and trying to look cute, but when these kids come in the store, it becomes the most important thing in the world to them, and I think that's okay. As they leave the store, smiling and proudly toting their crisp shopping bag full of basically brand new clothes, it's obvious that this is an experience they won't forget. The Threads concept is so simple, but revolutionary at the same time, and it has been amazing to watch how it has grown from serving 40 families to over 100, and how it went from Rachelle's idea to a full-service, community-focused organization that garners support from businesses and newspapers. Threads is inspiring, and so is the little boy who left yesterday jumping up and down, holding up his new shirt for all to see. "Mom, this is the best Spiderman shirt in my whole life!" Yay Spiderman.