Jul 22, 2018 6 min read

Can you believe that I am an introvert? For real! I am. So serious. I know it seems unlikely that I am an introvert, but I’ve completed several personality assessments and the results continue to be the same — Gina is an introvert. Now, the reason that many of you, including me, are surprised by this new fun fact is because we’ve come to define introvert as someone who is quiet, keeps to themselves, etc. But in reality a dominant introvert tends to be a “thinker [who] ponders the apparent chaos of the world in order to extract from it the universal truths and principles that can be counted on…[providing] the logical structure on which to build strategies.” (Personality Pathways) I find the latter definition to be much more fitting of my personality. Don’t you? I digress. In all seriousness, I am a thinker. I think I think too much at times. Often, it becomes quite difficult to turn off my mind. I think. I process. I strategize. I problem find. I problem solve. I problem create. I think. Fortunately for me, I am also a dominant action-taker. Yes, I want to understand the world but I also want to take action to affect change in it. Between the thinking and the acting, I find little time for resting and connecting — but I am working on it.

I am sure you are asking yourself, “Why is sharing this with me?” Well…I’ve been thinking a lot about faith lately. I’ve been pondering what it means to have faith and to live a faith-filled life. Over the past several months, my family and I have lived through some challenging times and major faith-stretching experiences. In 11 months, we experienced great loss, tremendous blessings, devastating news, wonderful new opportunities to grow business, significant disappointment, and more. With each experience and no matter how amazing or how difficult the situation, God showed up mightily and He showed up in the form of community. Let me explain.

In the book, “Life Together in Christ: Experiencing Transformation in Community,” Ruth Haley Barton shares with readers the value of living our lives in relationship with others. She speaks directly to the fact that when we are at our lowest points, we often seek community to heal. Barton goes on to say, groups tend to overpromise and under deliver when it comes to community; but she warns that we should not seek a group of people to fulfill our needs. The problem is that we put our faith in people instead of putting our faith in God who can use people to help us in our times of need and celebrate us in our moments of triumph. She explains that life and growth does not “just” come from the people we surround ourselves with, but it comes from our individual and complete commitment to our own pursuit of Christ’s love as we share and grow with others in community. Community provides for us a shared understanding, shared language and shared commitment to living life at its fullest and seeing God’s kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven.”

In October, my husband and I received some surprising and exciting news. We celebrated quietly and gratefully rejoiced that God chose to bless us this way. At the same time that we received our news, close family members were experiencing a devastating loss. We chose to keep our news to ourselves, retreated into prayer for our loved ones, and patiently waited until it was time for us to celebrate God’s awesome blessing. Just as we were about to share the news with our family and close friends, we too experienced loss and now we were faced with sharing a pain-filled story instead of the celebration we were hopeful to have. The holidays came and went. As we do at the end of every year, we reflected on the love, favor and grace God showed us throughout the year. We made plans for the next year and committed to starting 2018 with a new joy, new excitement for what was yet to come. We were in the moment between the “now” and the “not yet.”

February was upon us and we received some more news. Packaged into one announcement, we were overjoyed and overcome with fear — all at the same time. This news, although troublesome, pushed us — typical loners — into community with others. We fasted and prayed, reached out to praying friends, and made some tough decisions in a short amount of time. The next week, after hearing a confirmation from the Lord, we traveled to Costa Rica for a life-changing experience.

We returned from our travel invigorated and excited about what God showed us in Costa Rica and the gift we received from Him once we got home. This time we engaged our community a little faster, shared the story of our grief and our gratitude for all that we had gone through to live out our faith and get to the other side of our fear.

Through community, God has and continues to show us so many valuable lessons. I will share two of them with you here: Lesson 1 — Don’t get caught up in solving the problem, that you miss seeing God is the solution. Lesson 2 — Don’t withhold your pain and your joy from others. Share with like-minded believers in your community who can hold you accountable, encourage and edify you, and live life in community with you. During the more difficult times, I would spend significant time just thinking and over-thinking about my pain and my loss. I kept wondering “why God?” and then I would spend time trying to find a reason for the experience and identify a solution to make the pain go away. In community, God showed me the value of acting on my faith. You see, I had faith in God and I had faith in my community (family and friends) but I did not connect with them and take time to share with them (remember — introvert). Seeking out my “believing” family and friends, sharing with them our journey and asking for their prayers and support pushed me past my fears and pain. My community was God’s earthly reminder to me that we were not alone, no matter how overwhelmed and desperate we felt. Friends, remember, it’s a choice to walk alone. Who is in your community? “Now on that same day two of them were to go a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all the things that had happened…” Luke 24-13-15.

Gina Watts is a former resident of Fayette County, now living in Columbus, Ohio. She serves multiple communities as an advocate, educator, and leader. Follow Gina on Twitter @professorgmarie.