Community
Recently, my sisters and I threw a surprise birthday party for our parents.
While reflecting on that day, what really struck me was the powerful sense of community.
The room was filled with people my parents would want there the most—their family, siblings, close friends, and even their neighbor, who also happens to be my dad’s best friend since high school.
There are people in your life who have just always been there, and for our family, that’s their neighbor. He’s an amazing man who has loved me like one of his own. He’s walked with my parents through it all—losses, surgeries, weddings, births, and every high and low in between. He’s been steady, loving, and present.
Watching him sit with my aunts and uncles—chatting, laughing, and simply enjoying each other—it hit me:
He’s not just a neighbor.
He’s not just Dad’s best friend.
He’s family.
He’s always been family to us, but seeing him so naturally blended in with my dad’s siblings made my heart swell. It was a sweet and powerful reminder of how important community is.
I’ve said it a million times: It takes a village. I know this from personal experience—both growing up and now as a parent. Having people in your life who may not be blood but are still family? That’s a gift.
These are the friends who:
Keep you grounded.
Hold you accountable.
Call you out when you need it.
Step in when life gets hard
Whether they’re helping you run kids to activities, babysitting while you go to appointments, or just sitting with you in the chaos—her with a Coke Zero, you with a Diet Dr. Pepper—they make life lighter.
They keep you sane. They listen. They care.
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 says,
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”
That’s real friendship.
It’s walking through life together—through the mess, the joy, the pain, and the laughter.
So, I encourage you to be like my second dad.
Be the neighbor. Be the helper. Be the family.
Love each other. Lift each other. Be part of the village.
