It’s the People, Not the Place
*This piece originally appeared in the 2016 MOPS International Publication, Searching for Stars, a devotional for military moms. For more info on MOPS Intl., please visit MOPS.org.
Every military spouse has that one “Please NO!” duty station. A tiny airfield or sprawling mega-base, sweltering humidity or numbing frigidity, an urban city or the middle of a endless desert, in a foreign land or on domestic soil: the nightmare assignment is different for everyone. Every once and awhile, you meet another family who was actually stationed in “that place” and survived. Not only that, they tell you they liked living there and if they could, would go back again in a heartbeat! As you attempt to wrap your mind around how anyone could want to return to the single place you are actively avoiding, you can’t help but ask them, “Why?” The answer is always the same: community.
Across the board, these content families will tell you that it didn’t really matter where the base was located, what the weather was like, what language the locals spoke or what amenities were available. What mattered was the friendships they made with those living around them and how they prioritized “doing life” together. They made an active resolution to look past all the physical distractions and purposely invest in friends equally committed to supporting each other in an authentic way. In the end, it was about the people, not the place.
In 2 Corinthians 13:11, Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to “Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” Paul wanted the early church to be a community made up of joyful, encouraging and peaceful people, even though they were living in a city full of distraction and materialism. Paul understood that to build a faithful, world-changing community, you have to focus on the people, not the place.
No matter where you are currently stationed or where Uncle Sam moves you next, you can build a supportive and loving community like the one Paul describes. Invest your most valuable resource, your time, in one of the few things that can last a lifetime: relationships. Actively moving towards deeper, more Christ-like friendships also draws you into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God. Like Paul instructs: Let’s be joyful. Let’s find friends who will challenge us to grow in our faith and maturity and encourage us when we stumble. Let’s be peacemakers. If we follow His lead, God joins us in building the authentic community we all long for, no matter where in the world the military sends you.
