A Few Thoughts on Community Living in the Country/Agrarian Setting

Living like we and the "tent-dwellers" are now has its pluses and its minuses. Mostly though, there have been pluses. Note: I did not say there have been exclusively pluses; we have had our minuses, still do as a matter of fact. We have, as a family, undergone some rather drastic changes because of this community life. The "tent-dwellers" probably have too. I don't see how anyone could possibly be in close proximity to someone who understands them, will hold them accountable, and whom they wish to continue their good image as a friend, how anyone could possibly have all that without going through some fairly dramatic changes in their daily life. So, we have, and are still, going though some of those changes.

In doing this, the community participants becomes more than long-time visitors; they become something like family. In our case the "tent-dwellers" have become closer to us than some of our extended family. It is like having more siblings and an aunt and uncle. Mr. and Mrs. "tent-dweller" have not yet become like another set of parents to me. Even though it is like having more siblings, it's not. It really does make sense; just let me explain. You may get to the point where you can freely tease and maybe even have little, petty arguments, but they are still not your siblings. They are your friends. You still want to maintain the positive look of a good friend. When you are with your family, you tend to be more relaxed and unguarded with your actions and speech. Around friends, that isn't usually the case.

This is where one of the most major pluses comes in. Although perhaps initially looking like a minus, the sanctification you gain through continually guarding yourself among your community friends will eventually spill over into your family life, making it much more agreeable and good. Still, we must not deceive our close friends. We have to be ourselves, just guarded against the disagreeable things of which, we all must admit, we have.

Guarding yourself among your friends is important, but there are other important aspects of community life that we have to continually think about. Being with the "tent-dwellers" is wonderful. The fellowship is always sweet, and the work accomplished is good and extensive. However, I believe there is a limit to how much we should be together. This is another huge thing we've had to learn. Even in a community we must still be family-focused. To be completely, or even mostly, family-focused becomes one hundred times as hard when you become part of a community. When our little community first began, we all had problems with moderation. Some of us always wanted to go up to the "tent-dwellers", that is, if we were not already up there. When I noticed this in myself, fairly quickly because I kind of anticipated it, I went to the extreme opposite. That was probably just as bad. I am now settling into a fairly comfortable middle place, but it has taken five months to get here. That's just me though. I believe privacy, personal and family (community, state, etc.), is a very important part to be able to successfully continue to do this kind of community living.

Through all this, I think I can conclude that all our initial minuses will eventually become long-term pluses if we continue to work things out. With that I conclude a few thoughts on my experience with community living.

(Tell me if that made any sense please!)