Back from Camp Bluebird

"The counterweight to grief is community." - Nashville Mayor Megan Berry

The words above were spoken by Nashville's mayor regarding the horrific massacre in Las Vegas this weekend. They had also been spoken by her husband just weeks earlier at the funeral of their son, as Nashville citizens shared in their loss. How grief attacks, along with fear, is by isolating a person from comfort. By internalizing the pain, rather than have a safe place for their grief to be shared and ministered to, we sorrow alone. With so many things going on in our world, that is just too heavy a burden to bear.

This statement strikes me personally this week. I've just returned from another weekend at Camp Bluebird, a camp for adult cancer survivors. We share sorrow and tears, joy and laughter (much, much laughter), we hug, sing, dance, and generally cavort. The weight of cancer is lifted by the community created. We all share equally each other's burdens. Not because we should, not because we have to. Simply because we love. And our own burdens are lifted in the process. I believe there is no power greater than the power of love, and that the power of love in community of others is unstoppable.

This doesn't eliminate the cancer. It doesn't stop the passing of dear friends, or the sadness of their loss. It does stop the grief and sometimes hopelessness from taking control. It allows us to remain stronger than that which assails us. The freedom to be more than the disease that has bonded us. That joyful release is unlike any other, and it happens because of our community. Camp Bluebird.

I pray for everyone to experience that community of love. I pray that God's church returns to that community of love, rather than the judgmental nature that seems to prevail. I pray for all my beautiful Bluebirds. Prayers and Bluebird Hugs to you all!