There is something unique about military life overseas, especially if you live on base housing. It’s an oasis of people who do life similarly to you in a dessert of unfamiliar culture. We have a Facebook group that lets people know when most of the food at the commissary is expired or missing, which pizza places deliver on housing, if anyone has an extra egg, and when a pet is loose. It’s really helpful. The community is gated and guarded so our kids ride their bikes, play in the park, and run freely and safely. We also have a community pool where many of us go to get away from the hot Puerto Rican sun for a spell. This is where we do life.
Maria changed this. We were scattered like cockroaches before and after the storm. Many decided not to return to this devastated island that still deals with unbearable traffic, potholes, power outages, and dispersed debris that has yet to be cleared. When we returned there were a handful of littles that ran through the grass and conquered the now half covered park, but they were simply a remnant. Then slowly they left as their parents moved to their next location. Our once close knit community was ripped and torn apart. All the social clubs were disbanded and most of the leaders did not return. Even the faithful Wednesday night volleyball game disappeared. I honestly didn’t even notice how withdrawn we truly were until a week ago.
Most days, the kids and I like to walk or ride around the mile path that circles our houses. Usually we don’t see anyone and only hear various dogs barking from inside their fences or houses. Then came last week. We met people on our walk! There was a couple running together, a dad getting the grill ready, and two other couples shooting the breeze on the sidewalk as we passed. I smiled. It’s coming back! The new families that are settling in have breathed much needed life into our stagnant domestic existence. The spouses are meeting, the kids are having pick-up basketball games, and outdoor movie nights are packed! My heart has been lifted.
In this age of faceless community, base living is a breath of fresh air (I smile at the irony of that sentence as I update you electronically). We literally breath in this fresh air as we walk, play, and meet outside to complain about our kids behavior, potholes, and heat. We nod in agreement, sigh, and give occasional hugs of support while our kids play with sticks, ride bikes, or swim. We are a group of people of every background and location forced to live together in an unknown land and not just survive, but thrive. We have Puerto Ricans, southerners, northerners, Europeans, and even Chinese. Some have kids, some have only fur babies, yet we bound in our common ground of coast guard life on a Caribbean island.
What a cool picture of another community that we are a part of, one that unites people of all ages, stages, languages, and countries. One that is united not necessarily due to likeability, coolness, or color, but our bond in Christ. We meet together weekly or more to encourage each other in our pursuit of godliness and sanctification, no matter if we are rich or poor, attractive or unattractive, foreigner or native. We refresh ourselves that we are all image bearers of our savior and therefore have worth no matter what we look like on paper. We realize that all of us have the same problem, sin. And the answer to this sin problem is also the same. Not working hard to be good, but that a good Savior died for our sin. He rose again restoring our rightness and relationship with God. All those who trust in this Jesus are now a part of a gated and guarded community where they are safe to do life together, even when storms come and decimate what we hold dear. Our protector holds the world in His hands and we can trust that we won’t be destroyed.
Life in community can be hard, my sins can be found out, my comforts swept away, and I may not always be liked, yet when I am guarded by the king of kings, I can trust that he will help me through it. I love my communities, they remind me that life face to face, although awkward at times, is worth the effort. Thanks for being a part of my community.