Fellowship

I’m off in a few minutes to a Christmas party. Granted, it is usually a short party, as most of the attendees need to get to work by a certain time, but a party it is nonetheless. It just happens to begin at 5:45 a.m.

It’s been three and a half years since I joined this early morning study, and with each passing year this group of women grow more dear to me. We’ve gone through some incredible Bible studies, had lively discussions even at that hour of the morning (it helps that our waitress never lets us see the bottom of our coffee cups) and had some fun outings at more traditional hours of the day.

Fellowship – koinonia in the greek – is defined as the share which one has in anything, a participation, fellowship recognized and enjoyed; it’s commonly used of the common experiences of Christians. It’s more than simply going to a potluck and sharing a meal. Rather, it’s the sharing of lives, of struggles and triumphs, faith and doubt. It’s being involved with one another in a deeper way.

More than the good food, more than the pretty decorations and warm fire – that’s what makes it so difficult to leave and go to work.