Cultivating Covenant Community
What is Covenant Community?
Your covenant community is the people God assigned to your life, those who are in alignment with God aiding and encouraging you to walk out things of Christ (your purpose). These Godly friendships are ones that most of us desire more than we talk about. I’m going to give you, my take; your village is your community Some would say your friend group, homegirls but I feel like it’s much bigger than that. Covenant is an agreement; we think of that term biblically and can associate this as a union. For example, establishing our relationship with God is our covenant with Him.
Navigating adult friendships and any relationships can have its challenges right, as we grow older our needs and perspectives change, and everyone is on different paths; so, developing new “ships” can be a little scary, especially if you’re starting afresh. One of the things I am learning the older I get is how important community is and the impact it has on our lives. Particularly, how important it is for me as it’s something that I am seeking out and desiring more of. I have always been more reserved and observant of others, even now in my adult life. I was never one to wander around with a big group of people, I didn’t have a posse- I can count on one hand the people I truly rely on in my village and support system. So, this has been a personal challenge for me making “new” friends and letting people in.
Having that village, to me is one of life’s soft luxuries, you have a community personalized just for you; prayerfully it’s healthy connection. In my observation, it seems that people tend to be happier, fuller, and more connected to those around them when they have somewhere to lean. Something I have become intentional in seeking God about particularly is my community as I evolve into new routes of adulthood. I want to be surrounded by more like-minded women and men in Christ as my seasons have changed. I decided to take a step forward because I was beginning to feel a bit void in this area; it can be a little difficult trying to navigate life changes alone, but we don’t have to.
As we grow older, it tends to become foreign cultivating community in particular spaces. Some ways that we are able to approach this is through social interaction of course, but we want to be intentional with the spaces we are entering and entertaining. Community allows us to thrive as individuals in our interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, and other areas when we are open to it. We want to take up spaces that allow room for growth, accountability, correction and purpose. Relationships that are pushing us into fulfilling to our purpose and live to our fullest potential, are the ones that we should want to hold on to. We should continuously be learning together and inhabiting a space that will build you up, encourage you, pray and affirm you should be spaces that we also want to cultivate for of others. We are not meant to do life alone, especially on this faith journey we need people that we can lean on in our times of need. Embrace the love of your community as it expands through your journey!
Xo, Tee!