why I live here
The question was put to me, "Laura, why do you live at Greenhaus?" Now it would be easy for me to go into all of the great benefits of living here. I could talk for hours about what it is like to have the opportunity to, as a college student, live with Christian singles, couples and families and learn so much about so many different places and perspectives along the Christian walk. I could talk for quite some time about how crucial I think family is and how living with families and children fulfills that in a deep way within me that is otherwise lacking with my own blood relatives over a thousand miles away. I could go on for some length about the benefits of living in a house where people do ask me how I'm doing and expect and push me for real answers no matter what those answers look like, and then submit the issues to prayer and follow up with me about them later in the week. We could all get in some good laughs as I spoke about how horrible my cooking skills are and therefore how blessed I am to live with folks that not only cook very well, but are willing to feed me regularly as well as work to help teach me to acquire these skills. And from there I could talk at length about the way that things like that, like folks including me in their meal times, doesn't feel like charity because our lives are intertwined and there is give and take in our relationships, with examples like I'm teaching the kids to ice skate and to learn sign language, and sometimes I help get some to athletic practices, other people cook more often and invite me and others to meals, one handles the IT and networking for the house while I do a lot of the troubleshooting and computer maintenance, some have the best listening skills, or love to serve and so often wash the kitchen floor. There are all kinds of gives and takes that intertwine our lives so that its not like strangers or neighbors but much more like family, like breathern. Again we'd probably get a chuckle as I tangented off again and spoke about some of my quirks, like enjoying Christian rap music, and how such things are a lot more tolerated within a Christian household. *laughs*. And I could tell story after story about visitors we've housed, or the joy of hugs from kids, or learning myself about God in how the young boys talk about Jesus and the bible stories they learn, or about what it looks like for this many people to try to sit down at the same dinner table every Saturday night and how hyper all the kids get at the concept of the shared time together. Or I could talk about the tender moments, the tough discussions that needed to happen, the conflicts that were so hard to work out - but were worked out, the tears shared over tough issues or personal losses, or even the frustrations that we all have at one time or another with living amongst so many people and therefore living a life requiring a lot of sacrifice and therefore growth.
However, when it really came down to it, all of the stories and anecdotes and laughter and whatnot... it would all be me sidestepping the question that was actually asked of me. For truly, why I live at GreenHaus could be most simply stated as "it is where God has boldly spoken that He wants me to be right now". And as far as insight into that, I think that my call to living in intentional Christian community comes from both the abundant and the lacking places within me. The abundant want and love of relationship and close connection that is so present and driving within my soul is a key piece of why I believe I'm called to live in intentional Christian community. On the other side of the coin, my lack in knowing how to deal with conflict appropriately, my lack of a family structure here in Boston, and my lacking in certain pieces of my Christian walk where I am still young and in need of growth, its from those lacking places and others that I believe the tug, the calling, for intentional Christian community comes. So I guess you could say, I live here because I'm passionate about it and I live here because I'm no good at it and really need to grow in those ways.
-- Laura