Precursor: Be prepared for complete honesty!
Well hello! I know it has been a while since I've made an actual post. Not sure how long this one will end up being because God's been teaching me some things I wanna share and I also need to update those of you who wander to my page every now and then!
Over the past year or so now God has truly been moving in the lives of those around me. Jordan met and fell in love with the man (who is perfect for her) whom she then married and they are pregnant! Lynzie and Nathan got engaged and are gonna be married this summer! Lynzie is graduating college! My sister is about to have her first child! My mom has lost over 60 pounds! Brooklyn is growing up and is more beautiful day by day! Molly is about to head off to China! So many people my age are getting married!
This list could probably go on but those are just some things that are really sticking out and have been huge to me. Heres the honesty thing that may not be to fun to read much less type. There have been days where I've been completely jealous of each blessing listed above. There have been days when I've questioned and fought with God asking "when will I meet someone? when will you reveal to me your specific calling on my life? when will my life actually start?". There have been days when I didn't wanna be around those people because I was so self absorbed that it hurt to be around it. Don't get me wrong, of course I was happy for them, but definitely not as I should have been!
A couple of weeks ago I got some really great news! I was so excited, couldn't stop smiling and then a familiar thought entered my head " oh thats great for them , but what about....me? "
Not soon after that thought there was a rebuttal that went a little like this: If God blessing those you love doesn't directly bless your heart, you should question your hearts motive. Convicting.
Scripture talks a lot about the body of Christ, that together we make up one body. Some are the arms, the legs, the head, and some are smaller and don't seem as important but you couldn't really function to the best of your ability without. I like to think of people He has specifically placed in my life that way. Not to tip toe the line of finding meaning and satisfaction in them, but finding joy and encouragement. We need each other. That next Sunday Jason preached an awesome message and God pointed me to a scripture that has been on my heart since. "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."- Romans 12:15. Makes since doesn't it? Shouldn't we rejoice when one member of our very own body is being completely blessed by God? Absolutely!
If we think rejoicing is often hard, we shouldn't take light to the second part of that verse. Just as soon as great news can come, bad news can follow pretty quickly. That it did. It hasn't been the best week because of it, there has been weeping and God has shown me how quickly rejoicing can turn to mourning. How important it is to be in tune with ALL parts of the body. I've wanted to post on these thoughts for a while but couldn't gather them all too well. Because this part stumped me. Its difficult to rejoice for one person who is experiencing awesome things and weep with another who isn't. But then God came with another rebuttal: the Cross. By death he overcame. John 16:33 says that we will have trouble but to take heart, He has overcome the world! 1 Peter 3:18 says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit"
In my mind it took me back to the idea that we are to be a reflection of Christ, in His image. Can you imagine the weight he bore daily? So many people, so many blessings but also so many tragedies. It was good to stop and remember that he was God in the flesh. He didn't just look human or talk human he WAS human. In that he felt burdens just as we do and in a much more heavy way. I know that isn't a great answer to the posed question of how to rejoice with one and weep with another, but all I know is that He did it. So by that I know my answer is always Him. Sunday school? I guess... but we can't truly rejoice, truly weep, truly be what the body need us to be if we are not first plugged in to the source, the life, the heartbeat of that body: Him.
So on this good friday rejoice! He has overcome! In Him all things are possible, but only in Him. Friends , Family I'm completely blessed by you and thank God for you. I'm am directly blessed by God to be apart of these awesome events going on in each of your lives and am so honored. I truly mean that. Through your relationships I know God is giving me an awesome opportunity to watch Godly marriages in the making. To learn, to prepare, to be the kind of women you are. Thank you for being who you are and following His plans for your life. I love you.
Life has begun. I'm awake, I'm alive, I am blessed. I may be 22, single, work in a shoe store. But I'm also an aunt, a sister, a daughter, a friend, and most importantly a daughter of the King who is worthy to be praised. I'm moving, I am waiting, I'm rejoicing, I am weeping, I am loving, I am loved, and I can't wait to see what He has in store.
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In 2 months and 4 days I have lost 16 pounds total.
All because of Him and my awesome encouragers I get to call family and friends!
