The Power of a Spiritual Community

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

In the early stages of being with Drew, we've mostly dealt with each other selfishly and on our own. Inspired by the movie "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days", I remember always testing whether our relationship was worth keeping. There were some days when our arguments became so heated that I'd leave the house without my phone and without anyone, including my children, knowing where I went or what I was up to — Even I didn't know where to go or what I was thinking and was usually hoping that I and the whole mess would just disappear. As I look back on those days, I can't help but thank the Lord for holding our family together despite not yet having a relationship with Him.

Now that we have the Lord at the center of our marriage, we have learned that it's not enough to just have a relationship with Him but to also immerse ourselves in a community of fellow believers.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’. - Matthew 22:36-40

I actually didn't like this one at first because I've always found it very difficult to connect with people on a personal level, but because the Lord commands it, I have to obey — and I'm glad I did. Now we have a whole church-full of spiritual families: our small couple's group, the husbands and their wives that Drew encounters in the men's fellowship group he attends, the serve team members (volunteers) in the ministries we belong to, our classmates in Discipleship lessons, a prolific seniors' community we had the chance to raise building project funds with, and everyone in between. Together, these people were brought by the Lord into our lives to provide extra love apart from what we're already receiving from our blood relatives, to share testimonies with, to give sound advice, share a safe and comfortable home, sumptuous food, and sometimes to share resources. They are an ever-present reflection of Jesus who journeys with us through ups and downs.

They are an ever-present reflection of Jesus who journeys with us through ups and downs.

Last year, I learned that I was pregnant in my 40s. Aside from a high-risk pregnancy due to advanced maternal age, neither Drew nor I had work. Our eldest was in the middle of planning her 18th birthday and preparing for college in the next academic year. We have been part of a special church mission trip to Macau. The sale of one of our properties was put on hold due to some technicality issues. And we've incurred unexpected (but totally warranted) credit card debts. So while we were very happy with this gift that God had given us, we were also very worried, and almost didn't want to share the news because it felt like it didn't make sense at a time like that. But God reminded me that that's part of what our spiritual family was for, and as soon as we announced the bundle of joy baking in our oven, excitement, encouragement, lots of prayers, well-wishes and gifts poured in. No one asked, "Pano kayo nyan ngayon?". Instead, the collective faith of the community ignited our faith bigger than it had ever been. We were treated to not just 1, but several baby showers and completed ALL of our baby's essentials out of the love and generosity of everyone.

Marami pang di nasama sa photo because I didn't have closet space + medyo pagod na si buntis magligpit.

I've shared this in one of those baby showers, but I hope everyone in my community and beyond realizes the powerful effects a spiritual family has on us and how grateful we are for it.

Thank you so much, our spiritual families, for always heeding God's call and becoming a part of our lives.

While scrolling Facebook once, I came across a reel that seemed fun at first but turned out tragic. The reel started with a happy pre-teen to teenage girl dancing to a happy song and being all silly, but the text overlay said "Before Fentanyl. The stitch soon after came with a gloomy song, a tomb with her details, and the text overlay "After Fentanyl" — she was just 18 years old. I had to replay the video several times because I was expecting to see the video transition further to someone who has overcome drug addiction. Not sure if it's the pregnancy hormones, but I cried, both from the heartbreak of knowing that a lot of children all over the world are exposed to these world issues, yet at the same time, grateful that I can be confident my children will never have to go through anything similar because we have Jesus; Because they have their titos, titas, ates, kuyas, friends, and peers from church whom they can share their lives with — especially the parts that they might not be as comfortable sharing with us (a.k.a. samin sila badtrip). Thank you so much, our spiritual families, for always heeding God's call and becoming a part of our lives.

And if you who might be reading this isn't part of a spiritual community yet, I highly encourage you, PLEASE. FIND. ONE. We are not meant to walk this world alone.

If you live nearby, please visit Victory Imus-Lancaster's Facebook page and find out how you can be connected. We have services every Sunday, 9AM, 11AM, 2PM, and 4PM.

We'd love to journey this life with you!