Lost in a familiar place

I don't know about you, but up until my time at Trinity, I just assumed that all libraries were organized according to the Dewey decimal system. However, Trinity uses the library of congress system. So, twice this week I have made a journey to the library in search of a book only to come up empty. It is a really frustrating feeling. I know the book is there. Nobody else seems to be having any trouble finding their books. What is wrong? How could it possibly be that I have made it all the way to graduate school and I can't so much as find a book?

It seems to me that there are parallels to be drawn between being lost in the library, and feeling lost in faith. You know that God is out there. Everyone around you seems to be getting by just fine. What is wrong?

One of the things that I am really beginning to appreciate is the impact of community in spiritual health. We are social creatures. We relate to each other. However, all to often we keep things to ourselves. Often the things that we chose to retain are the very things which we most desperately need to share with others. I am reminded here of Martin Luther. One of the things Luther valued most was his time of individual confession and forgiveness. For Luther, one of the greatest things about individual confession was that another person could hear about his sins and still announce God's forgiveness.

We have a responsibility to each other to bring God's blessings, grace, and forgiveness. We simply cannot do that without community.