Last week was a tough week for us.  I mourned the death of my mother-in-law (see HERE).  A friend’s dog nipped my 3-year-old, who then needed an emergency tetanus shot.  A wasp got under my son’s shirt and stung him 8 times before I managed to flush it out.  I missed my husband while he was out of town (big things always feel more difficult when we’re apart).  And then there were a bunch of other small things that felt big in the midst of a turbulent week.

Yet, in spite of the difficulty, I felt held by our community.  Family members called and sent notes.  Friends checked in and dropped by.  Someone left a special treat for my boys.  One dear friend even showed up with a wonderfully delicious meal, nourishing both our bodies and our hearts.

These simple acts of kindness serve as reminders that I am not alone in what’s often an isolating broader culture.

We all need our village around us.  Whether that village consists of nearby extended family or a self-created village of friends, we all benefit from living within a caring community.

Our village consists of people who we can call on if we need help (like when our fantastic neighbors came and spent the night with our boys while my husband and I were attending to my head injury — see HERE — in the ER), these are friends who join us on adventures (see HERE) and for a day of play (see HERE), these are the people who will cry with us, celebrate with us, and walk beside us as we travel down life’s path.

And it circles around.  We receive not only receive love, we then send it back out into our community.  This week a friend got hurt, and we offered to help by bringing food and watching her kids while she rests.

This circle of caring is wonderful not only because of the concrete manifestations of help and thoughtfulness (food, child care, help with big projects, and so on), but even more so because it provides emotional support.  Simply knowing that we’re not alone, that we have companions on life’s journey, means a lot.

I am so thankful for our community, both those close at hand and those who hold us from afar.  I hope you have similar love in your life.  Life is full of unexpected ups and downs, but the downs feel a lot easier when we know that we don’t have to struggle through them alone.

Do you have a village of loving people around you?  How do you support and feel supported by that community?