So lately life has been a whirlwind. I haven’t written in a while, life has just been moving too fast. Between two kids and ministry life it just never seems to stop. I got out of my habit of trying to have a quiet morning once a week and just put my head down to get through it. For the first time in a couple of months I am taking the time to sit and slow down, to take a breath of air, look at the mountains, and spend some quiet time with God. What follows is some of my reflections from that time.
If you need help seek help. There are always people around you who are willing, but they can’t help if they don’t know the need. I constantly fight the “I don’t need help” mentality. I like to do it on my own. Some of it is because I feel a sense of pride in doing solo work, some of it is people are messy and I just don’t always feel like trying to work with other people. This has been a huge conviction for me these last few months as I have found myself in situations where I could do it on my own, but I just didn’t have the time. This has forced me to reach out to other men and not do it on my own. They don’t always do it the way I was thinking, but that ok. It still got done and it was still great. We are not called to do this life on our own, in fact the Bible says when we try to go it alone we will inevitably fail. We are called to community, we are called to togetherness. Yes people are messy, but life is so much better with others.
On the messy people note, people are indeed messy. But their mess is not a reflection of you. We are called to love and help others, to help point them down the straight and narrow path. It is our responsibility to walk beside them and help guide them. If they fall off the path, it is our responsibility to reach out a hand to pull them back up. If they fall off the path it is not your fault. If you reach out your hand and they don’t take it that is not on you, it is your responsibility to keep offering that help. Their failure is not your failure. But you can be there for them, help lead them through, be a calm voice in the midst of the storm, and help lead them back to the light. We are called to help, not shoulder the weight of their sins, that is what Jesus died for, don’t let it kill you.
Lastly, take a breath, take a moment, spend peaceful time with God. So often my time with God becomes agenda driven. I have worked in ministry for quite a while now. Time with god is expected of me, it’s part of my job description! It becomes a checkmark on my list of things to do that day, I get to put a little x by “time spent with God” after I take a quick minute to pray, read my Bible, and maybe read some from a book or something like that. Time with God can quickly become just a quick little part of my day that doesn’t feel like it has any sort of significance, it doesn’t impact the rest of my day, and that’s not the relationship that we are called to. God is supposed to infuse every part of our day. If we don’t take the time to rest in Him, to take time with Him, so soak in the bath of Him long enough to make our toes and fingers look like raisins then what are we doing? I’m not trying to say that every day needs to be a long drawn out bath in God, some days its just a shower, but we need to make sure we take time to be able to regularly bathe ourselves in Him, and in His presence.
As stated in the beginning, these are all just reflections of the last couple of months thrown onto a note in my iPad. They are largely unedited, and just what I’m thinking. Some day I might say “hmmmmm that’s not quite right” or “well, problem should have said that differently”. But oh well. This is where I am right now. I will continue to grow, continue to learn, and continue to grow closer to God. These blogs serve for me as a time capsule, of things I have learned and things I am learning, things that God is actively working on in my life, and just maybe they might help encourage you to continue to walk on the straight and narrow path with me.
