“Community ~ a big, strong circle of helping hands. There when you need to be heard, accepted, and loved.”
Unknown
Community. We all need it. Men and Women thrive there. Life’s sorrows and joys can be shared, laughter can soothe our weary bodies, and tears can cleanse our souls. There’s something about being ‘a woman of a certain age’ that makes Community precious, life-giving, and necessary. Unlike the cliques of high school and college, Community for women can happen in unlikely places sometimes. For me ~ I have found rich Community in the sauna at my gym.
My gym has two saunas ~ one for men and one for women. My sauna sessions have become the favorite part of my workout routine. Elevated body temps and sweat are barely noticed as the dialogue percolates and the conversations deepen. We have shared our faith, our problems, our joys, and our regrets.
One sweat session as we laughed together, I realized that on this particular day I was the oldest woman in the room. At first this gave me pause, and I experienced a twinge of disbelief. For some reason I had never considered what it must feel like to be the oldest woman in the room. But, ah ~ the gift of Community. The conversation that day proved to be a beautiful exchange. The younger women asked questions, shared frustrations, and listened. It became an incredible opportunity to reflect on seasons of life, share our faith, reminisce realistically, and discover nuggets of wisdom. Wisdom for those younger as well as for myself.
There’s something very freeing about being authentic with younger women one moment, and commiserating with our peers the next. Being the oldest woman in the room is a lovely reminder that we can learn so much from younger women, while at the same time offering a serving of hard-won life experience.
Authentic community ~ a judgement free zone where we can express or not express our doubts, our victories, our failures. If you are looking for Community and haven’t quite found it ~ don’t give up! Sometimes the most meaningful interactions between humans are found in the most unlikely of places. And never be afraid to be the ‘oldest woman in the room.’