Anam Cara: An Irish Perspective on Relationship

This blog was prompted by a little trip to Barnes & Noble with my brother. Basically, I got tired of helping him find a birthday present for a girl he really didn't know (all he knew was that she liked indie-rock, vague). As I meandered through the shelves, I picked up a book on Irish culture and opened to a page about "Anam Cara" which means "Soul Friend". According to Celtic spiritual tradition, the soul is illuminated around the body as a glowing aura. A deep bond is made when you open yourself to one another. This transparency and vulnerability creates a relationship that is appreciative and trusting, allowing "two souls to flow together". Your anam cara always "beholds your light" and loves you as you are, as a beautiful mess of raw brokenness. This kind of friendship awakens your fullness, allowing you to engage yourself and the community around you. The Irish believe that when you are blessed with anam cara you have been given a sacred place, you have arrived "home". Beautiful. All I could think about was, "how can we be "home" to people, especially in the fall? Well, we could offer them biscuits and "jam", but I think we have more in mind. Loving people is the hardest thing we are called to do.
Relationship is something that is essential for people to actualize God's New Jerusalem, his beautiful vision of community. Within the first week at Swat I realized that true relationship building was not going to be an easy task due to the engulfing culture of individualism and success. At Swat, everyone is on their own track. It was sad to try to talk to people, but see their eyes focused past your head on their list of things to do on the path to "success". Have you ever heard the phrase, "busyness is the devil's best tool"? Busyness, in my opinion, is the biggest obstacle between me and the people around me. At Swat, our "busyness" is masked by its academic character, but it is still busyness nonetheless. If we can make time for relationships with people and God, He will make it possible for you to accomplish his vision for your life. God is our "time-turner" (for all you HP fans out there). He'll make it happen. Promise.

In conclusion, I think we should bless people with hardcore love and jam ;)

If you guys have some free time this summer, meditate on what it means to provide a relationship that is "home" to someone. How do we actualize this kind of relationship? (Ya'll probably have lots of ideas coming from Chapta' Camp).

Love ya'll,

Hana

God is good

So, y'all know I was talking about my family a lot during camp, and especially about my dad. Well, one of the women there prayed with me about him, for healing and forgiveness and reconciliation, and I came home, and guess what? My sister started talking about my Dad and how he's been treating my youngest siblings (I have three half-sibs, ages 7, 8, and 8) and how different he's being with them than how he was with us when we were that age. Then my Dad called, to wish me a happy birthday, and I talked a little bit about camp, and it went great. He'd invited my full siblings and I to go to France with him and his wife and the littles, and I've decided to accept. His emails have been so gentle and apologetic-sounding that I'm not as worried about it as I was. It's like he's a totally different person, or something. I'd also prayed to God to help me be a better witness to my family, and I get home and my younger sister, who up 'till now has been an avowed atheist, is asking my brother and I more and more about God, and even going to church with me. She told me, "Hearing you and Lee [my brother] talk, it sounds like utter blasphemy to not believe." She's not Christian yet, but hearing that was amazing. God is good.

Welcome back from Chapter Camp!

Hello! Swarthmore Christian Fellowship has just returned from InterVarsity Chapter Camp 2010, and we're itching for some kingdom work to do. This blog will serve as communication for ideas and inspiration and follow-up in the three months we have before school starts again this fall. Post about new ideas you have, great things you've read, anything God has told you, even your frustrations and doubts as you experience "post-mountain syndrome." We're building community here even though we're scattered over the summer.

- Andrew

P.S. Tagging (labels) makes it easy to locate posts of various themes or topics. Some suggestions for tags are: "prayer request", "NSO", "answered prayer", "random", "Bible verse", "picture", "video", "large group", "small group", etc.!