Messianic Mishpocha

For the past few months, something that has been heavy on my heart is thinking about how I blessed I am to be a part of my Messianic community.  There is something wonderful that comes from being around people who are in the exact same place in life as you are. What is even more special than that is when you are a SUPER minority living out the exact same calling and purpose which is hardly ever fully understood or accepted by either side, Jew or Gentile. 

There's a mentality and a mindset that comes with living a certain way that is semi-unexplainable yet part of the core of what you believe and how you act in every day life. This is common in many ethnic or religious backgrounds, but is not the same across the board. When people ask questions like "Why don't you celebrate Christmas?", "What background do you want the person you marry to be from?", "Why don't you want to go to church?", or "Why do you use certain words or phrases and not others?", my answer is usually something along the lines of "because it's just what we do". 

I've been faced many, many times with such questions and honestly don't always know how to answer them because it's just how I've been raised. It's not that I have been brainwashed or haven't accepted them for myself, but it's like asking someone of another ethnic or religious background why they keep certain customs or traditions... it's just how they do things, even though it probably holds an actual purpose. People don't always ask questions or voice their confusion, but I can see that they don't completely understand why I believe what I do or why I live the way I do, and perhaps don't even see any reason to fully go into it.

Now... all of this is to explain why I feel like the best version of myself around my Messianic community. Not only do I not get these questions or misunderstandings, but everyone around me in these settings also lives the exact same way. There's just an unspoken connection that is there when you are around people so similar to yourself. I know that most likely, my Messianic Jewish friends will worship and approach spiritual concepts in the same way that I do. When conversations come up, there is a shared understanding of certain terms or concepts that make it easy to flow through a discussion with no need to explain what you feel might be inherent.

The questions and topics that come up most often with me and my Messianic friends are usually about: 
- Sharing our testimonies
- Explaining what God has done for us recently
- Figuring out when we can all see each other next
- Telling how we and our families got involved in the Messianic movement
- Describing why we do or don't feel called to move to Israel
- Reliving the highlights and memories of Messianic events
- Talking about times when people didn't fully understand our beliefs and lives.
.. and also the oh-so typical matchmaking. 

I am not saying anything negative at all about my non-Messianic friends so if you're reading this and think I'm bashing you or putting you down, I promise I am not at all! I have actually been extremely blessed to have many non-Messianic friends who have a love for the Messianic world and have purposed to develop an understanding about what I believe. 

The moral of all of this is that I am so thankful to be at a place where I feel so comfortable and loved by my Messianic community and the fellowship I get through all of our times spent together (at Messiah, regionals, and random visits, and also on social media, texting, and phone calls). Through this comfort and love, I have solidified a perfect peaceful foundation that has allowed me to tackle the questions and misunderstandings that come from others. It has most importantly encouraged me and given me the security to grow spiritually and be the truest version of myself.

If you are a part of my circle of Messianic friends, I thank you. I thank you for choosing to live just like I do. I thank you for making me feel fully accepted for what I believe, how I serve God, and how I think. I thank you for loving all of my craziness and confusion... because you have it all too!