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Rejoice in the wet and ruined

9/13/2015

So... Ya. Such a great week, such a great night - till we opened the door and walked inside... That's how this story starts but I need to back up a bit because this is a moment... I sense God's divine hand.

I am in an overloaded state in life; overloaded at home, at work... With things... In my mind... In my heart. Overloaded. I cannot find time for myself, time to be here - writing...

My friends would say I need to cut things out, in fact they tell me that routinely. I love them... I really do. Sometimes I think their concern comes from a place of judgement, more often, though, it's genuine. I am mostly grateful for that. I think that we all are wired to be able to handle stress and burden... All wired with a different level we can handle and I have been good...

But I say all this... Because I am overloaded... I'm carrying around too much that's become priority and I have been thinking of unloading...

I want to sift through my closets and get rid of it all... No more buying, no more clutter... No more "I'll save this till "then"" knowing full well that "then" will never come. I want to go through my kitchen's cabinets and drawers. I want to unpack, remember when and move on.

I don't want to carry this around, this stuff, even knowing that it's there weighs me down. I know I will be better, be able to do more and feel less stressed with a more simple life.

I've been thinking about all this for sometime...

Fast forward to the beginning of my story.

We had just been coming home Thursday night from parent teacher conferences and dinner with two very proud kiddos...

Approaching our door was laughter and excited banter - the key hit the door, unlock to step inside, a puddle at our feet... Over an inch in fact... An inch of water in the entry way, kitchen, dining room and living room; slowly seeping into my daughters room.

The waterline on our refrigerator had come off while we were gone and cold, filtered water had filled our home.

What I should also say is, I was to leave for a weekend women's conference in California early the next day.

Pray for us... I texted the family and friends I knew would be awake and our best friend came over with another wet dry vac and two super fans... We filled two 12 gallon barrels of water too many times to count and slowly sucked the water from our home.

My sweet husband let me head to bed at midnight while he continued one more hour, sucking out water and pouring it out of our home.

I have had the following Bible Verses floating around my head since then...

James 1:2

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Phillipeans 4:4-9

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peacewill be with you.

Rejoice in the wet and the ruined... Rejoice in the ripping up and throwing out... Rejoice in the deep cleaning... Rejoice in the foundation baptized by water...

I still went to the conference, no reason to stay home waiting for my home to dry out..

The baptized home, the women's conference and sunny California, Sunday church service seals the work He is doing in my life.

Rejoice in the changes He's making physically with me, in me... In my home, within my husband and children and among my friends. Rejoice in the wounds of this life.. Old and new... Playing an active part in the person, family and home He's rebuilding...

To Him be the glory.

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Sisterhood of faith!

9/1/2015

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Humor me a moment… I’d like you to close your eyes… take a deep breath and imagine…

I want you to imagine your very first best friend… who was she? How old were you? Do you have her name in mind, her face? Maybe you were in elementary school and she was the girl who lived next door. Maybe you were in middle school and she was the girl who introduced herself to you at lunch time and you are still friends to this day. Maybe you met over coffee because you had kids similar in age and you’ve been inseparable ever since.

I hope this memory makes you smile.

With your eyes closed I want you to imagine… the first friend who ever betrayed you… she certainly has a name, can you remember what the offence was? Do you remember how sad you were…

Now I want you to imagine the first friend you betrayed, let down or walked away from… do you have her name or their names and faces in your mind? I do….

I want you to think of your best friend now, she might be the same person in previous thought – she’s hopefully gone through some tough times with you and she’s, no doubt, in it for the long haul. She might even be they --- maybe you have more than one best girlfriend… sometimes it takes a team to deal with our personalities…

Maybe you’ve never had a best girlfriend or girlfriends. Maybe you struggle inside those relationships. Maybe girls are too catty, too drama filled, too self-centered, too uninterested, too interested… whatever, a girl friendship is just not for you.

Friendship isn’t easy, is it? Do we know how to be a good friend? Is it worth it? Do friendship and fellowship intertwine? There’s always expectations… reasonable and unreasonable… what do we do?

I can’t answer that because I still struggle myself. I picked this topic of friendships because I thought I was good at it… I thought God had been leading me towards these relationships… and I found out through this process that I have a lot to learn.

These past two years God has worked on my heart and opened my eyes to friendships and the relationships we have as women in a new way. He’s opened my eyes to the ways we treat one another – openly and in the private places.

I have witnessed gossip and gossiped myself. I have been the betrayer and the betrayed… I can name for you… who my very first best friend was, who I had utterly let down and who could not be there for me in the toughest moments.

In this time, God has strengthened some of my relationships while allowing others to fade. He’s made me weak and venerable. He’s taken me places I never thought I would have to be, relying on people I never imagined relying on.

God intended for us… as believers to be a community. One that would strengthen, teach, train and raise; shoulder burdens and carry loads. We were never meant to dwell in this life alone, without a team… a family… a very big family.

We have the perfect example of what biblical sisterhood of the faith looks like. We have Ruth and Naomi… this seemingly simple relationship changed my heart.

Agape Love… Jesus’ Love for us… the way we’re supposed to love one another, as He first loved us…

The first five verses in the first chapter of Ruth tell us so much. First it tells us that a man of Bethlehem took his wife and two sons to the country of Moab and they dwelled there, then Naomi's husband died. She was then left with her two boys and they took wives, women of Moab, Orpah and Ruth and they dwelt there for 10 years and then the boys died. We are left with these three women.

The name Ruth means companion or friend and the name Naomi means my joy, my bliss or pleasantness.

There is a Hebrew word - Hesed. This word is used in scripture to define how God loves his people. This word means loving kindness and implied loyalty... this word acknowledges this love as one that goes beyond measure, rather than measure for measure. Human love routinely calls for love measure for measure. God's love goes BEYOND measure.

I find it powerful and meaningful that this type of love is called out in story of such brokenness and friendship. In my mind it’s an example of how sisters in Christ should love one another.

We find Hesed here... After the death of her sons, Naomi makes a gesture to release her daughters-in-law. She has nothing for them, no more sons for them to marry and since women could not own land there wasn’t much of a future for them. Naomi knew this and rather than saddling her daughters in law she lets them go.

In her own love beyond measure she tells them to return to their mothers… and blesses them; “May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the Lord grant that you may find rest...” and she kisses them.

The girls wept and lifted their voices - They protested. I believe they both loved her but Naomi made a compelling argument and Orpah wept, kissed her mother in law and left… BUT Ruth… Ruth… Ruth clung to her (vs. 14) and said to her, “Please don’t tell me to leave you and return home! I will go where you go, I will live where you live; your people will be my people, your God will be my God. I will die where you die and be buried beside you. May the Lord punish me if we are ever separated, even by death.”

The account of this relationship goes on, as does God’s provision for them. He had a plan… He never left them…

What makes women bond like that? Where does that kind of love and devotion come from? What is a sisterhood in Christ? What is fellowship among believers?

It's the conversations had around a coffee table on Sunday morning. It's movie dates and picnic blankets. It's phone calls specifically scheduled for prayer time. It's that call from a treasured friend who lets you know her child is in the hospital and she is ok to sit alone, but she doesn't know how long she's going to have to sit alone, so, without asking - the sisterhood quietly joins her - to hold her hand, to make her laugh, to pray in the scary waiting moments and to act as a pillar, to allow her to lean in when the ground gives way.

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Rejoice in the wet and ruined

Sisterhood of faith!

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