Reason #102
After October, I had a really hard time going back to church. I've grown up in church, so it's second nature for me to be there on Sundays. But I had to fight it. I had to make myself get up on Sunday mornings and go. And I remember sitting in my Sunday school class in October as I shared the horrible news with them. This was two weeks after I had sat in front of them and lead a study over the Holy Spirit...day 2 of the storm. Of course, it just so happened that on this day of confession, we had a full class. So one of my friends sat in there with me, held my hand, and I cried my eyes out as I told them what was going on. I didn't think that I was going to get the words out of my mouth, but I knew they needed to know. I had built friendships with this group. We had bonded, become a part of each other's lives week after week. We shared our struggles, our concerns, our joys and worries. As I sat there, ashamedly spilling my broken heart to them, I noticed that they, too, were crying. They weren't misty eyed, no, tears were streaming down their cheeks. They were hurting for me. Sincerely concerned and worried. And we sobbed together, and we prayed, and we hugged. Interestingly enough, we were doing a study over the early church and as I look back I see that that was the church at its finest. A group of people, everyday people, who love the Lord and love one another. A body of believers believing in an all powerful God. Believers who stand in the gap for one another, fight for one another, encourage and spur each other on, and embrace and carry one another through life's trials.
And my church loved me and prayed me through the toughest season of my life. They reached out to me and supported me through the worst of days. On another Sunday, as I was headed through the church foyer to my car, I walked past another fellow body member, a friend, who was in the middle of a conversation. When he saw me, he paused his conversation, made his way over to me and gave me the most sincere hug. He looked me straight in the eye and he said, "We are thinking about you and praying for you." A few weeks later, another mentor of mine e-mailed me to let me know he had heard the news. He made sure to check in with me each week to see how I was doing and to send me a word of encouragement. Many of the women in the church rallied around me in such an incredible way. They desperately prayed for me, they took me shopping, brought me yogurt, sent me verses, fed me dinner, and met with me at the drop of a hat. My pastor counseled me, my Sunday school class included me, and because of this body, of these believers, my biggest prayer for truth was answered.
"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad." (1 Corinthians 12:26) And so they suffered with me through it all. But they brought such joy to me through the suffering. They helped ease my pain. And I praise the Lord for not only giving me an incredible church home, but for giving me the courage to share with them my burden. I praise Him for surrounding me with people who were strong enough to help me carry this heavy load, too. They didn't have to do this for me, but they did it because they love Him. My fear of rejection, of exclusion, of judgement was quickly expelled that very day I told them.
So I can't imagine how things might have turned out if I had let humiliation and embarrassment keep me on the outside of those church doors. I wonder how differently my life would be now if I had decided to try and carry this heavy load on my own. What if I had tried to hide from them? A missing body part, even a little hurting one that might feel unnoticable, makes for a less functional body.
The church, a body of people who love to the best of their ability. Imperfect people who realize that we can't do it on our own, He didn't design us that way. A body whose parts sometimes ache, a body whose parts are sometimes broken, a body that isn't exluded from pain eventually becomes a body that dances when those broken parts are healed and jumps for joy when the aching parts are relieved. The body holds together through the growing pains, sharing the pain, and finding comfort that no part has to go it alone.
#102 - Because of my church, the body of Christ.
"All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:27
And my church loved me and prayed me through the toughest season of my life. They reached out to me and supported me through the worst of days. On another Sunday, as I was headed through the church foyer to my car, I walked past another fellow body member, a friend, who was in the middle of a conversation. When he saw me, he paused his conversation, made his way over to me and gave me the most sincere hug. He looked me straight in the eye and he said, "We are thinking about you and praying for you." A few weeks later, another mentor of mine e-mailed me to let me know he had heard the news. He made sure to check in with me each week to see how I was doing and to send me a word of encouragement. Many of the women in the church rallied around me in such an incredible way. They desperately prayed for me, they took me shopping, brought me yogurt, sent me verses, fed me dinner, and met with me at the drop of a hat. My pastor counseled me, my Sunday school class included me, and because of this body, of these believers, my biggest prayer for truth was answered.
"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad." (1 Corinthians 12:26) And so they suffered with me through it all. But they brought such joy to me through the suffering. They helped ease my pain. And I praise the Lord for not only giving me an incredible church home, but for giving me the courage to share with them my burden. I praise Him for surrounding me with people who were strong enough to help me carry this heavy load, too. They didn't have to do this for me, but they did it because they love Him. My fear of rejection, of exclusion, of judgement was quickly expelled that very day I told them.
So I can't imagine how things might have turned out if I had let humiliation and embarrassment keep me on the outside of those church doors. I wonder how differently my life would be now if I had decided to try and carry this heavy load on my own. What if I had tried to hide from them? A missing body part, even a little hurting one that might feel unnoticable, makes for a less functional body.
The church, a body of people who love to the best of their ability. Imperfect people who realize that we can't do it on our own, He didn't design us that way. A body whose parts sometimes ache, a body whose parts are sometimes broken, a body that isn't exluded from pain eventually becomes a body that dances when those broken parts are healed and jumps for joy when the aching parts are relieved. The body holds together through the growing pains, sharing the pain, and finding comfort that no part has to go it alone.
#102 - Because of my church, the body of Christ.
"All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:27
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