I was going for a swim the other morning (okay, I was going to walk around in the water), when I noticed there were some people already in the pool. I was slightly annoyed because on previous mornings I had the pool all to myself and I could play my music and enjoy the solitude and the water. I almost didn’t get in but then began to laugh at myself. I was acting as if I owned the pool when in reality it was community property. The pool was for all the residents. It wasn’t mine. I smiled as I thought about how easy it is to become possessive of things that don’t belong to us. I wonder if that’s how we see the church, as though it’s ours. We view others as outsiders trespassing on what is truly community property. I wonder if people feel our possessiveness. Perhaps we need a change in perspective. Perhaps we need to rethink church. We need to remember that Christ died so that the church would be community property. We need to remember that others need the healing water that the church can provide. I decided to go ahead and enjoy my morning time in the water. I noticed that others were enjoying themselves also. After a while, their laughter and smiles made me smile. We were all being blessed by the same water. Maybe that can happen as we open our hearts and make room for others. Maybe that’s what happens when I remember it’s not mine.