Monthly Archives: June 2022

A little over a year ago we met Sammi, and I have talked about her some here and there. But more and more lately her encounter with Jesus has been on my mind. All I can think over and over is “God meets us in our messes and loves us right out of them.”

When Jesus met Sammi she was an outcast, a loner, a socially unacceptable woman. She had to draw her water at the well when no one else was there. Some of you may think, “Wow, that’s sad.” And others may think, “Well, she kind of did it to herself.” And I’d say you are both right. But the truth is, is her sad, self-inflicted mess is no different from your sad, self-inflicted mess.

Judgy? Maybe. True? Absolutely. Your mess is just as messy as her mess. We love to take to comparing ourselves to others to gauge the severity of our mess or justify the reasons why we are knee deep in the junk. And social media is the biggest culprit of nasty messes and failed expectations. We compare our walk with someone else’s walk, our mess with someone else’s mess, and our successes to someone else’s successes.

Aren’t you tired of comparing? I sure am!

The truth of it is, is God is going to show up while you’re knee deep in your chaos just like He will for everyone else. Every. Singe. Time. The change, however, lies in your call to God. And again in your response to Him.

And guess what??

God is going to constantly meet us in our mess of junk and pull us out because we aren’t “there” and we don’t “arrive” and we are never sanctified until we meet Him on the other side. Look at how many times David had to run to God to repent? To be pulled out of his pride, his adultery, his sin. And yet God never gave up on him, nor did He compare David’s struggles to Job’s trials. God didn’t just pass up Saul in his murderous rage. He met him on the road and then sent Annanias to lay hands on him, and he became Paul. Nor did he leave Sammi to continue her life without Him that day at the well. Got meets us all right in the midst of the storm and sometimes it’s the rawness of His presence, and other times it is through someone else.

The encounter between Sammi and Jesus was simply Sammi and Jesus. The encounter with you and Jesus may look a little different. It may look like you, your friend LaFonda or Shelly or even Karen, and the Holy Spirit. God works through other people so beautifully. He sends them to us so we are not alone in our own turmoil. Which means that mess of a girl you see on Facebook that you compare your mess to? She may need you to walk beside her. And it’s highly likely you will need her to walk beside you. We cannot do this life alone and nor were we meant to.

I want to offer a challenge this week, one that may be a little uncomfortable. If God brought someone to mind for you while reading this, reach out. It could be a co-worker, a former friend, someone you may not get along with, or someone you don’t know really well. Build a bridge where there currently isn’t one. Reach out like Jesus, lay hands like Annanias. Oh no, it isn’t going to be easy. Oh yes, it is going to feel awkward. Do it anyway. Lives change when we take one step. Hate stops with one caring word. Judgement ceases when we stop comparing our walks to others and start reaching out to understand one another: the jailbird, the drug addict, the panhandler, the single mom, the miss always right, the neighbor, the co-worker, the social media flaunter, the overachiever, and the have it all together-er. We ALL have messes, junk, and storms. The question is, when you are in your mess, or observing someone else’s mess, what is the state of your heart?

Philippians 2:1-7 says, So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being of full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit…count others more significant than yourselves. There is absolutely no caveat to that statement. It doesn’t say others except for the ones that irritate you. Or the ones that have a different lifestyle than you. Or the ones that are not saved like you are. It just says others. And with the others, love yourself also. God made you, messes and all. We spend so much time cleaning up our mess while comparing it to someone else’s mess, we miss out on what God really has for all of us. The ability to help one another through sift through all the junk we either make or are given. Many hands make light work, right?

Friend, we may not know each other at all. But I sure hope one day we will. For today, feed yourself, girl with the love of God and His word, and also with the love of you sisters.

Until next time.

There hasn’t been much writing done by my hand in the past 5 months. And this sentence right here is normally where I would tell you I have been on a hiatus, or been struggling with my faith, or been distant from God for whatever reason, none of which are the reason for my writing absence. In fact, my absence has been busy. It has been a roller coaster. It has strengthened my faith in ways and challenged it in others. Most of all, it has made me realize that I am missing my purpose.

But wait! Before I get into the people purpose, I want you know that Katie is HEALED. I am talking a miraculous, divine, God-healing. Katie had surgery in January, and has since gained almost 20 pounds (she is now 108 lbs), graduated high school, started working, and has a completely unrestricted diet. I cannot put into words the awe, the joy, and the disbelief in watching the vomiting, the weight loss, and the sleepless nights of the past 5 years just disappeared. Overnight. And when I say overnight, I mean in 12 hours. Gone. Don’t tell me there isn’t a God that performs miracles. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Yes, she had a surgeon. No, it wasn’t a miracle like we are conditioned to think miracles should be (like magic or something). But it was miraculous to watch this surgeon come out and say, “She’s fixed. Better than we thought. I haven’t seen anything like that before. And I’ll never see anything like that again.” Unexplained. Divine. Miracle. And the little cherry on top that made us smirk? Her surgeon’s name was Dr. St. Peter. Yep, Peter. Like the apostle. I can’t deny the miracle we experienced, nor am I going to try to dilute it with some tangible explanation. It was simply, and profoundly, God’s hand at work.

Okay, back to the purpose. Of people.

I know, I know. In this day and age it is socially acceptable to like cats more than people, to seek emotional support from dogs instead of friends, and to chase our own ambitions instead of helping our peers with theirs. The drive has become selfish and success has become solitary. Our purpose is increasingly defined by our own achievements and we are losing sight of what it means to be humble. We are slowly eroding away the purpose we were made for, what God has intended for us, so that we can each obtain a fleeting, selfish glory that will sit on a shelf and collect dust. Just like a 3rd grade soccer trophy.

We have one purpose that is bigger than ourselves, and that is the purpose of living for others. Our people purpose. I am not talking about adopting children or mission trips to Africa. While both are noted to be noble causes, and they are needs that also need filled, there are great needs right under the noses of our daily lives. Do you think God places us where we are at the time He does just because He felt like it that day? Nah Jack. That’s not how He works.

Close your eyes, and think of a peer or coworker who may rub you the wrong way or drive you a little crazy. Got it? Now think of a peer or coworker who you really enjoy being around. Easier to think of the more pleasant person, isn’t it? Now think of both of those people at the same time, and while you think of them, picture our God loving them, doting on them both equally. God loves both of them so much (and God loves you so much) that He placed each of you in the same place at the same time for a bigger purpose. Why? Because in some way, you need one another. You have something to teach to them or you have something to learn from them. Our purpose is people. It isn’t the success of our own self that we are made for, but for the purpose of the people around us to see Jesus in us. Our identity isn’t our job. Our job is just a task, and yes, one that we must do to God’s glory because the people around us see how we complete those tasks, how we work under pressure, and how the seemingly impossible is made possible. Our identity is who we are in faith and who God says we are made to be. Our identity is what others see as we carryout our tasks, as we help others, as we portray kindness and love and grace and mercy. Our job is just one piece of the whole. It is a piece to our people purpose. When we live out our people purpose, life becomes less about us and our finite success and more about the eternal success of those around us.

We are made to do life with people. As messy and frustrating as it gets, it is our purpose. The purpose God has set before us carries over into our schools, our jobs, our friendships, all of it. And I don’t mean like a holy thumping for non believers. No, no. I mean serving one another in love, speaking truth in love, being patient in love, and giving up of self in love. I think about the people I work with. Some of them are oh-so-easy to love and others take quite a bit of effort. And each day I fail in loving someone the way I should. Each day I fail at losing sight of my true purpose for my own selfish success. And each day I tell myself I will do better the next. But you know what? I may be that someone that is difficult to love for one of my coworkers. None of us are immune to being disliked or imperfect or annoying. I know I certainly am not. And I am definitely not immune to being a selfish, self centered go-getter. I want what I want when I want it. But when I look at the bigger picture, when I think about what makes each day brighter and more fulfilling, it is undoubtedly the people in it.

Proverbs 19:21-22 says, Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. What is desired in a man is steadfast love… We can make our plans, set our goals, but if we are not allowing the Lord to determine our steps, and if we are not living for the purpose of loving others, we are wasting our life. We are wasting our purpose.

What I have learning in my writing hiatus is that life is not about what it can give to my achievements and success, but it is about what I can give of myself to those around me, regardless of the setting. Love the ones around you.

That is your purpose. The people purpose.