#149: How to find community: 3 easy places to find it with Rachael Wade

INSIDE: Learn three easy places to find community, one sign you’re open to community, and two simple ways to encourage your friends. If you’re lonely and ever wondered how to find community and belonging, listen in to Grace In Real Life Episode 149 with Rachael Wade.

God Himself is in community, being a part of the Trinity. He designed families as a way for people to be loved, supported, and strengthened. And then, He placed those families into tribes, cities, communities, and nations.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God talks about community and friendship and the values of both.

We may not think of hanging out with other humans as a spiritual discipline, but to God, togetherness, belonging, and support are critical to following Him and growing in grace.

So, where do you find your people? How do you make time for community when your schedule is full of work, picking-up and dropping-off kids, volunteering, and running a house? What do you do when you’re trying to connect but still feel lonely?

Because finding a community where you feel like you belong leaves us wondering where to start, I invited Rachael Wade to the show.

Today, Rachael walks us through:

Three easy places to find community,
How to find time for community when your schedule is crazy,
And three ways to honor and encourage your friends.

How to find community as an adult

“If you want community, you need to have a posture open to receive community.” – Rachael Wade
“To be open toward having multiple sources of community, where you’re pouring in, and you’re getting poured out, is essential.” – Rachael Wade
“I’m a firm believer in going first.” – Rachael Wade

What to do when you’re lonely

“I’m a firm believer in going first.” – Rachael Wade
“Get curious when you’re in those lonely seasons.” – Rachael Wade

If you’d like to learn more about finding community in your real life, go here:

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Key quotes about making friends and finding community

“Lord, in this season, who are the friends I need to spend time with and pour into and check in on?” – Rachael Wade
“Embracing your limitations is also really huge.” – Rachael Wade
“When you care about people, and you’re in friendship together, they deserve the right to have your honest communication, even when it doesn’t feel good.” – Rachael Wade
“Shame, guilt, and lies are all ways the enemy can try to isolate us from the truth and community.” – Rachael Wade
“To fight the battles that are in this life, we need to have people around us.” – Rachael Wade
“God takes us into new seasons and new assignments, and not everybody comes with us.” – Rachael Wade
“Encourage what you see and the experience you have on the other side of them.” – Rachael Wade
“To see people is one of the greatest ways we can show people the love of God. Through showing up and honoring one another is by remembering, by being curious, by circling back.” – Rachael Wade

As Mentioned in the Podcast

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About Rachael Wade

Rachael is a wife, mom of two, seminary student, writer, and teacher, who is passionate about encouraging and equipping men and women with the word of God. She believes in the power of the “in process” everyday story. For this reason, she created Olive Us, a ministry where women recount to remember the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Rachael faithfully serves at Camp Well, an experience for women who sit in the tension of being too much and not enough, and on the teaching team at Epic Church in San Francisco.

When Rachael isn’t leading, teaching, and writing on her “Seeds of Encouragement” blog, she’s hanging out in her comfy pajamas at home with her family, enjoying a nice charcuterie board.

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