Jessica Prophitt
Chaplain Major, United States Air Force
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”
– Hebrews 10:24-25
When I was growing up, I was fortunate enough to live on a street where we became surrogate family with a handful of neighbors on our block. In the summers, we kids would house-hop throughout the day. The mom who was “lucky” enough to get the crew around lunch would set out sandwiches and juice boxes for the hungry mob. During the school year, there were many Friday nights when my own mom would fill her wine glass and we would walk to the house across the street to catch up on the latest gossip in the “hood.” After my parents divorced, my mom kept us in that neighborhood because of the closeknit community supporting us. This meant she would commute an hour a day to and from work, but she had peace of mind knowing we had “surrogate parents” to look out for my brother if needed.
Now, as an Air Force chaplain, my husband and I have moved with our two boys about every two to four years. We say goodbye to friends and neighbors and do our best to reestablish community in our new location as quickly as possible. This lifestyle has often left me yearning for the long-established community where I grew up. I long for my kids to have adults in their lives who love them and claim them. I long for my husband and me to have friends who invite themselves over with wine glasses in hand. I long for community that blurs the boundaries between friends and family.
For anyone who’s ever served in the military, you know a departure is rarely a “goodbye” but a “see you later.” As my husband and I prepare to uproot and move yet again, I’ve connected with several friends and colleagues currently stationed at the location for which we are bound. The move has also sparked conversations with others from both my military and CBF circles that will likely lead to connections in our new home. I will always long for an established community of neighbors whose physical presence is accessible. But during this season of life, the communities I’ve become a part of, communities that reach across the country and, in some cases, the world, are saving my life.
I’m reminded that I’ve been called to engage with a community that’s much bigger than a block or a neighborhood, but which spans states and nations. This “community” has broadened my sense of who my neighbor is and has deepened my understanding of the vastness of God’s Kingdom. While I pray that one day I’ll have that closeknit community in which I grew up, I’ll be forever grateful to have been part of so many friend circles, families and neighborhoods.
Pray, Practice, Ponder
O Gracious God,
For adventures and moves that beckon us out of our comfort zones and into new lands, we give thanks.
For the opportunity to widen our circles and lengthen our tables, we give thanks.
For acquaintances who become friends, we give thanks.
For friends who become family, we give thanks.
For phone calls that fill us and for arms we fill, we give thanks.
For the vastness of your kingdom, and the depth and breadth of your people, we are in awe.
In Christ name we pray, Amen.
Pray...Give...Go.