Wanted: One church community

Sometimes I feel as if my life is being governed by two completely opposing forces. In the past, those forces have manifested themselves in the equal but irreconcilable desires to settle down and to move. This year, as I begin, a little confusedly, to make my home in the Northern suburbs, I'm finding that less of an issue. Now, it's more the tension between wanting to mix with people unlike me, and to fit in.

For some time I've found that there's a certain amount of contact with a wide variety of people that I need to feel balanced and well-rounded. I love the feeling of learning from people whose experiences in life have been nothing like mine. I love just how varied society can be, and I love getting to know lots of different people.

But there are a couple of issues that I tend to come up against reasonably often. Here they are:

1) Much as I love mixing with a wide variety of people, most people like to mix only within their own group, so I'm restricted to those who also like to meet lots of different people.
2) I'm quite shy, although you wouldn't always know it, and so, while I often like getting to know lots of different people, this isn't always as easy as I would hope.
3) I hate feeling like I don't belong.

Here I am, right now, having chosen to move to an area where I knew there wouldn't be so many like-minded people, and in some ways I'm loving the diversity and having my horizons broadened. On the other hand, I'm struggling with the lack of like-minded people. I don't want to be surrounded by them. I get sick of people like me, and I get sick of my own company. But I still need some contact with people who see the world like I do - and it's rare enough for me ever to meet anyone with the same outlook on life as me, so I'm wondering sometimes why I've willfully placed myself in an area where I'm reducing the chances of finding like-minded companions.

But here's the paradox: for me to meet people who are truly like me, they can't be complacently sitting in their huddle of like-minded companions. They too need to be out there having their horizons broadened, and associating with wide ranges of people. They probably also need to have a heart for the less glamorous, less privileged, areas of society. Meaning? On one hand, I'm reducing my chances of meeting them by making the move to this area, but, on the other hand, I'm increasing my chances.

Kind of confusing, isn't it?

I suppose at the moment this lack of companionship is at its most pointed in my search for a church community. Christians are in the minority wherever we go. And then there are fewer evangelical churches in the area I've moved into, meaning that I've chosen to move to an area with a reduced representation of a minority group. But...I could go to a church in another area, filled with people like me, but a) would not be being faithful to the direction I feel God has given me in my life, and b) would not be going to church with people who have a heart for the North-West.

I guess I've just got to keep praying, and keep trusting. It's not as if I'm completely alone at the moment, but it can be difficult to know how much we are supposed to belong, when we've already chosen to move out of our comfort zone. I know that God can be trusted. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see what happens next.