Fight. Win. Share Your Story.

July 5, 2019July 2, 2019 / The WheatandTares

I found this pictured quote posted the other day, and it seems I’ve shared it a gazillion times this week. It’s such a simple statement; yet, it seems so profound. Everyone of us, whether you’d like to admit it or not, has someone within reach who has walked the new and painful paths we must face throughout life, often times, that person is even within your orbit of living.

Whether it be sickness, terminal illness, relationship heartbreak, job loss, death of a loved one, divorce, tragedy, or whatever, there is someone out there who can relate. Especially now, with as much access we all have in cyberspace, the ability to reach out to someone who at the very least has a slight understanding, is exponential. There are resources upon resources to find knowledge, personal experience testimonies and short groups for any every dilemma one might face.

In many ways, it seems to be easier now than any other time in history to overcome what dilemmas and trials might come. Yet, our suicide and trauma rates seem to be higher than any other time in history. I have a theory to this, and please forgive me, I’m not an expert, and I’m definitely not trying to trivialize any pain or conflict you may have experienced in a particular scenario. However, I do hope this theory will resonate: more often than not, we hav become a society that focuses too much on “me and mine,” rather than, realizing there is a whole new generation coming behind us who need the wisdom, the testimonies, the experience and the legacy of both failures and achievements that we can give.

Understand, I am not stating this from of “high and mighty judgment,” never realizing the pain of depression, sorrow or suicidal thoughts or tendencies. I have been to low points in my life that I’d rather not share in this current post. I have

If it had not been for the grace of God, the prayers of those who knew and loved me, and the self-fortitude and remembrance in my own heart and mind of my higher calling and purpose, I assure you, I wouldn’t be writing this today, and you could be visiting me in the cemetery on a sunny day.

I can attest to the truth of this quote. You come through those hellish nights, and you persevere through those grueling, sun-scorched days of pain in order to help someone else along the way. Or at least, you should, because it is through your testimony of grace and endurance that someone else can find their strength to hope for a brighter tomorrow.

So, push on, broken one. Hum until you sing again. Struggle until you find your fight. Strive until you thrive. For there is some lost soul searching in the dark for just one clear footstep to help lead them out beyond the storm.

Lean On Me

October 31, 2016October 8, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

I had a ladies board meeting, with 6 other women, this past week and another leadership meeting, with ten of them, at the end of September. They are all incredibly different from me, and yet, we have so much in common. I said to them, “It is amazing and such a blessing to be in a church with a group of ladies who can be so strong and confident in the person God has called them to be, and at the same time, be so humble to love, accept and help one another to become a great team who works together in unity.” We didn’t become this kind of team by chance. It has taken a lot of love, a lot of grace and a lot of truth to bring us to this point, and most of all, it has taken us being there for each other when someone hits a “low spot” along life’s journey.

In Galatians, Paul tells us, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ…Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” I wonder, how well are we carrying one another’s burdens? I’m not talking about just being all caught up in this one’s latest drama or that one’s most recent crisis, and I’m not referring to how much gossip we can share with our neighbor. I’m talking about genuinely carrying a friend’s burden, coming along side that person who is hurting and weary from the journey and helping to share his load.

I’m talking about taking about taking the load, NOT upon ourselves, but joining in prayer with that person, and helping her to lay that burden at the feet of Jesus and helping him to see a ray of sunlight through his storm. Maybe it’s a note of encouragement, maybe it’s a little gift, or maybe it’s just sitting by her bedside for an hour simply sharing in the moment, even when you could really be a thousand other places getting a something done.

This is the kind of burden-carrying that fulfills the law of Christ. This is the kind of load-lifting that reveals His love to the world around us. When He said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It wasn’t just a cute cliche. It wasn’t just a nice follow-up statement to His command to love Him first.

He loves each and every one of us, because we are His children, regardless, of our differences or similarities to each other. He longs for us to love each other as He has loved us. One of the best ways we can do this is to pray for one another and help each other with the loads we carry. The more people who help in lifting a heavy load, the lighter the load is for each individual.

The Pursuant

June 1, 2016June 4, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Reading Jonah 2, it becomes clear to me that God is a God of pursuant love. His love is not stagnant. He doesn’t just “sit around” and wait on us to seek Him. He places things all around us to turn our hearts toward Him. He allows things to happen in our lives that would cause us to look to Him once again.

He pursues us with His love. He longs for us to be with Him. He yearns to have a conversation with us, a moment of communion, a friendship. He sent His Holy Spirit to be with us when He ascended to heaven that He might draw our hearts back to Him when we stray from Him.

It makes me wonder, how much do we pursue Him in this way? Do we only think about Him when it comes church time and prayer time over the meal? Do we only think of Him when we are in trouble and in distress, because, after all, He is a ‘God of answers’ and a ‘God of help?’

He longs for so much more from us. He pursues us, because He wants our hearts as well as our hands. He can catch our hands so easily. It’s easy to catch your child’s hand when they’re young, when they need help after a tumble, and when you need to stop them from running in the street.

However, it’s harder to catch the heart of your teen when they desperately long for independence and have so many new avenues to find that freedom. It’s even harder to win the heart of your grown child if you didn’t quite master the task in their younger years, and now they’ve grown beyond their need for what you have to offer. You have to get more creative, and they have to be willing to come back to you. They, also, have to realize time spent with you is more valuable than they once imagined it might be.

I believe we have this same tendency toward our Heavenly Father. When we first get saved, He is all we think about, all we talk about. We pursue a relationship with Him. Yet, as life moves forward, the responsibilities pull on us, and the priorities of this world knock down our door, we set Him aside for brighter, easier days. We forget about that relationship we once had when we daily communed with Him. We set Him to the side as we pursue the approval of man and the kind words of a friend. We, now, wait till we are in distress to call on His name.

But oh, the sweetness of walking with Him day by day. Oh the joy we miss when we put Him aside. What countless burdens we carry when we do not share them with Him. What needless turmoil we invite when we don’t allow Him in.

He’s still there where you left Him. Seek Him out today. You will find Him. He promised that when you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him.