Why Place Matters
Over the past month, I’ve read two books about place. Place has always mattered to me. Justin and I talked about moving for several years before we actually moved last summer and a connection to place was always a sticking point for me. We had put down roots where we were. We were involved. And even though I knew we would need to move (for a variety of reasons that aren’t the point here), I hated knowing that we would need to start over. In some ways, moving in the pandemic was easier because we had already dismantled a lot of our rooted life.
As we settled into our new home, I started asking myself questions about what it means to get connected and involved in a community, in a particular place. Wendell Berry talks about place; he lives the importance of place. Monastics used to take a vow of stability to a place and community. Eugene Peterson talks about the theology of our places. In Under the Unpredictable Plant, he wrote, “All theology is rooted in geography.” Saints of the past were identified with a place. All the bigger, comprehensive ideas of theology are lived out in particularity. We have a context.
The books
When I’m thinking about a topic, I like to read what other people are saying about it. Not so I can settle on what they say, but so I can expand and challenge my own ideas. I read This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick and The Power of Place by Daniel Grothe. They are very different books. Warnick’s book is practical and rooted in research. She discusses ten principles for being part of your local community. They weren’t new ideas that I had never thought of, but reading it made me excited to try the ideas. Right away, I listed three local businesses that I want to “adopt.” I’m going to spend time and money at those places. I have great options: one is a bookstore/toystore/coffeeshop. I could live there. Another is a bakery and coffee shop. (Are you sensing a theme?) And the last one is a little plant nursery close enough to walk to. If you’ve moved recently or still feel disconnected from your place, this might be a helpful guide.
Grothe’s book was a book on theology. I loved it. He quoted a lot of writers, Berry and Annie Dillard for example, and talked about their commitments to place. He talked about the implications for our lives if we are able to stay in one place for decades (though he also recognized that wasn’t possible for everyone). It was a beautiful and challenging book that I recommend for all believers actually.
Knowing our context
I want it to matter that I was here. I don’t need to be celebrated or remembered, but I do want it to have made a difference. Putting down roots in a particular place is part of that work. I haven’t looked for big circles, but I do want to invest faithfully in the small circles that I have. I want to understand my context and live in it well.
On of my issues with dispensing advice on the internet and books about broad personal topics is that they ignore context. We give advice to “people who are dating” as if all people who are dating are the same and in the same situations. They are not. The guidance that people need is very different depending on personality and experiences and the exact situation they are in. I think we should stop reading and writing books about “Christian dating” and instead, maturing believers should start being friends with people who are dating. Don’t just hand people a book- and I love books. Invite them into your life. Don’t memorize two lines of advice that you hand out to everyone. Know people and know what they, in particular, need. Learn to rely on the Spirit to give you wisdom.
Part of living in our place is paying attention. What is beautiful about my context? Relish it. What business would I miss if it weren’t here? “Adopt” that one. Where do my gifts intersect with a need? Put your energy there. I don’t mean that we shouldn’t do things on the internet. You’re reading this because of the internet. I’m constantly adjusting how I’m going to show up on Instagram. But we live with our bodies in a place on this earth and it’s a place where we can steward what God started. A bigger part of this is being willing to stay with the work when it’s not glamorous and it’s not big and no one is paying attention.
What is your context? How are you called to steward it?
Also, are you interested in exploring an idea? Where can you listen to someone else’s thoughts on the topic?
Always,
Lisa
Links I Love:
I preordered this book this week.
My heart is heavy for Ukraine and the people of Russia.
A IG friend shared this song with me and I love it.
This IG post was a response to ongoing questions that I get about reading the Bible as a woman (which is, of course, a specific context). Here’s a related blog post.