We Can't Do It Alone

 You can do it alone. 

You don't need anyone else. 

You everything you need to do what you want.

We hear things like this all the time. And mostly we believe them.

But, what if I told you these were lies?

The truth is:

We need each other. We can't do it alone.

I've written quite a bit about community and our need for people to walk through the good and the hard of life with. I keep coming back to it because it's so important and it goes against everything society tells us.

I think it's an even more important topic of discussion now. After the last couple of years where we were told to stay apart, we've become even better at trying to do it all on our own. We've drawn lines around ourselves in the things we believe and if someone doesn't completely agree with us, we push them away.

But, we're in a worse place because of it. We're paying a huge price because of it.

God created us to need each other as we walk through life. We don't have what we need for everything all on our own. Sometimes we need someone to be strong for us and carry us through. Sometimes we need to be strong for someone and carry them through. Sometimes no one will be strong and we just to know we have someone else who knows the struggle to stumble through it all with.

I was reminded of how important being together and how healing it is a week and a half ago. We were finally able to gather and have a Celebration of Life for my Grandma, after almost 11 months of waiting. As the family and close friends began to arrive, there were two thoughts in my head. The first was how good it was to see everyone and be together. The second was how something that used to feel so normal now felt strange. After a couple years of not being able to be together, it felt strange.

As we remembered, shared, talked, cried, and laughed together, something that happened that hadn't yet. Although we'd all said our goodbyes to my Grandma in some way over the last 11 months, there was something about saying goodbye together that we needed.

As I looked at the tables full of family, I knew this was a group that has laughed and enjoyed time together. But, also strongly disagreed and fought with each other over the years. That's what community is though, and you choose to stay together anyways. You love each other and show up for each other. You fight and you disagree with each other and you still show up for each other and love each other.

This is how we were created to live life. And we need to learn how to do it better again. It will take work. It will take intentionality.

But, we don't have a choice if we're going to live the lives God created us to live.

Changing Perspective

How are you praising God these days?

Are you holding onto the promises of God's presence and peace?

What are you grateful for today?

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
                                                                               (Phillippians 4:4-7)

These verses have spoken to me often. I've turned to them in many situations where things didn't seem to be going as planned.

When I opened my Bible to read this afternoon, this was the passage that was next. I struggled with the first couple sentences today. If I'm honest, I don't really feel much like rejoicing in anything these days.

But, as I stopped and sat with these familiar verses for a while, I was challenged and encouraged by what God was speaking to me through them. And, while all of what I'm about to say might be familiar to us. I think it's important to remind ourselves of it right now.

Paul isn't talking about rejoicing because our circumstances make sense or things are good. Paul is talking about rejoicing in the Lord. We can rejoice in the Lord because He is God and He is good and He is faithful and He is unchanging. Sometimes, this is a choice. We may not feel like rejoicing in anything, but we choose to praise God for Who He is regardless of our circumstances.

There are promises we can hold onto in this passage:
1) The Lord is near. He has not left us or forgotten us. We can be sure that He is walking through everything that's going on with us.
2) We can have the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds. This isn't a peace based on circumstances, because our circumstances may not be peaceful yet we can still have peace. It's a peace because God is with us. He gives us His peace, which goes beyond anything we can understand in our humanness.

Even though I know these promises are true, I wondered how we can find the peace to replace our anxieties and fears. I wondered how we can live in the reality of these promises instead of the fear and anxiety that comes so easily right now.

In the middle of these verses, we're told we can take everything to God in prayer. He can take it all. But, I think there's two important words in the middle of the instruction to take everything that makes us anxious and afraid to God. Two words that will help us to change our perspective.

What are they?

With Thanksgiving

This changes our perspective. In the midst of fear and anxiety, when we choose to look for things we can be thankful for it changes so much for us. It shifts our focus from all that is wrong, all we're fearful and anxious about, to the good things in the midst of it all.

I was challenged today to be more intentional about things to be grateful for each day. To take the time every day to write down at least three things I'm thankful for from that day.

As I did that today, it didn't remove the current reality. Nothing has changed in our world. But, what I was seeing changed and I was moved to worship, because the God we serve is good and faithful and constant and loving.

Maybe you're struggling with all that's going on too. Can I challenge you? Take a few minutes at the end of the day and write down three things you're thankful for from the day. Look for the good in the midst of the fear and uncertainty of the world.

Learning to Love the Life you didn't Plan On

Growing up, I had a plan for what my life would be like. What would happen when. They encouraged me to do this in school. But, even the best made plans don't always come to fruition.

I was going through a box of old journals recently and read one of those pages where I had planned our what my life after high school would look like. As I read it, I was struck by how different from that plan my life today actually is.

My plans when I was in high school had me finishing my business degree in four years, getting a job at an accounting firm and getting my designation as an accountant in three years following that. In my plan, I would have gotten married in that time and have kids once I finished all the other.

My reality started out according to that plan. I did get my business degree after four years. But, that's as much as it went according to my plan. I'm not an accountant. I'm not married. But, I have a job I love and I have the freedom to be involved in things I love at my church.

For a long time I struggled with not having the life I had so carefully planned in high school. When people talked to me about making that plan, they seemed to imply that it would happen - even if that wasn't what they intended. So, when things didn't go according to my plan, I wondered what I had done wrong in making my plan.

A couple years ago, I came to the realization that I was missing out on a lot of good stuff God had planned for me, because I was still holding on to that plan I had. I had to get to the point of surrendering my plan to God, so I could embrace His - whatever it might look like.

As I began walking that journey of letting go of my plans and embracing God's, my perspective changed. Instead of seeing what I didn't have and wishing for it, I started to see everything I did have. All the things God has blessed me with - many of which I'd been missing for a long time.

It doesn't mean I don't still want some of those things that were in my original plan, but it does mean I'm not focused on them to the exclusion of what I have been given. It's a balance, and I often find I've wandered to one side or the other. But, as I learn to be grateful for all that God has blessed me with, I'm learning to love the life I have while still having things I desire.

People Matter

Silly songs. Fun activities. Field games. New friends. Reconnecting with new old friends. Great speakers sharing God's love. Worshipping God. Chapel. Camp fires. Spiritual decisions. A feeling of coming home. Those are the things that come flooding through my mind when I drive on the camp property.

This weekend, I was back at the camp I went to as a kid and then had the privilege of working at for a few summers. It was a celebration of 40 years of ministry in that place. 40 years of lives being changed as people met God - some for the first time and some in a way they never have before. Celebrating 40 years of what is still occurring in that place and will continue to.

As we heard stories of how God had worked to provide for the camp, to protect the camp, to keep the camp moving forward. Provision of people and funds to continue to point people to Jesus. So much of it came down to people who were willing to allow God to use them.

That's what it comes down to for me. The camp is special to me, because of the people I met there. People who cared and gave of their time and energy to pour into my life. People who saw something in me they thought was worth investing in. People who gave me a chance to learn how to lead. People who gave me a safe place to fail and get back up and try again. People who celebrated with me when I succeeded.

So much of what really matters in our lives, the memories that we hold onto for years, are of the people. We might remember some of the place or the things, but it's usually the people who we hold onto in those memories. That's because God created us to be in relationship with others. We were created to need others in our lives. And when someone does take the time with us, we remember them easily. They become a part of who we are today.

As I sat and visited with some of those people in my life this weekend, I was reminded of how they have impacted my life. My response is one of gratitude. Gratitude to God for bringing them into my life. Thankfulness to them for being willing to be used by God in the lives of other people.

Each Day a Gift from God

I've been reminded the last couple of days that each day God gives us to live is a gift from Him. The things that happen in those days might not always be things that bring us joy - in fact, life can be hard - but each of those days is still a gift.

Some people seem to live that way easier than others. It seems like they have an ability to see the gift in each day. And that way of living in infectious to those around them. It's not that they deny there's hard stuff that happens or that they take joy in pain, they just see each day that they wake up as a gift from God to be used to serve others in His Name. They live with an honesty about them regarding the good and the bad times of life.

Those are the people who we interact with in life who leave a mark on us for the rest of our lives - and a mark for the good. They're the people who encourage us to live life to the full - like Jesus said He came to bring (John 10:10).

And they're the people we don't forget - whether they were in our lives for a few days, weeks, months, or years. Something about them was different and it made us take notice.

I've known a number of people like that over the years. And I'm blessed to have many people like that in my life today.

Today, I'm reminded to pay attention and notice them while they're still in my life. To appreciate those people God has placed in my life who point me and encourage me towards the life God intended for each of us to live. To notice that before they're gone forever from my life - instead of waiting until it's too late to tell them.

Gratitude for Healing

Luke 17:11-19 is another account of Jesus healing people in need.

This time, He heals ten men with leprosy. The difference this time is the recording that one of the ten returned to thank Jesus . . . and the one who returned was a Samaritan.

Jesus acknowledged the gratitude of the man He healed. He praised the man for coming back in gratitude.

When I read this account, I'm reminded of the importance of gratitude for what God has done in our lives. It should be a regular practice in life. For the little things and the big things.

Gratitude should become a regular part of our lives - an everyday part. It doesn't replace anything else in our walk with God, but it's an important part.

What has God done in your life recently? Have you thanked Him for it?