2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Satan has many tricks up his sleeve and all are very dangerous. Based on a few conversations I have had over the last few days I want to focus on one in particular. Satan is brilliant at making us feel alone and isolated especially when we are going through a difficult time. There have been times when I have questioned why I am the only one struggling with this or that. Everyone else seems to be getting along great. What is this based on? My opinion is based on how much people smile or say they are doing great. I have even thought this while I am sitting in church! Deep in my heart I know this isn't true and I know Satan is doing a number on me. It's a battle to remember that.
I know for certain one reason that God has allowed pain in my life is so I could gain compassion. Christians are supposed to be witnesses for Christ. Here is what a witness does NOT do. They do not tell others what they can and cannot do. They DO tell others their story and where their hope comes from and are not afraid to share what the Gospel has done for them. For example, I look back to the time when Mom was dying. I firmly believed she covered a lot of her struggle up as to not upset or worry Christy, Dad, and myself. There came a point where she could no longer hide things. We knew the end was near and we knew the Lord was not going to heal her on this side of heaven. I can't tell you the pain we experienced watching her suffer. I think back to that time in my life and truly cannot explain how I made it through. I can't speak directly for Christy and Dad, but tend to think they would agree with me. That time was a complete blur and was totally surreal...like we were all part of a movie that ended sadly. The only thing I can tell people when they ask how we made it through is that God carried us. He really did. I don't know why He allowed her to suffer so much or why she had to die. I have learned since that time that I don't need to know. What I do know is that He provided the strength we needed. Dad, Christy, and myself were all going through huge personal struggles too that had nothing to do with Mom's dying. We had God's strength, each other, and some REALLY good friends. That is my testimony and I am not afraid to share it.
I know there will come a time when a friend will lose a mother. I will be able to understand their pain. I won't be able to give them all the right answers and really a person doesn't need words then. What they need is to know someone else cares and has endured that type of pain. Face it, just knowing someone else has experienced something similar helps. God comforted me and I am supposed to pass it on. Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. We should not keep the comfort for ourselves. There is a fine line between being comforting and trying to one up a person in their pain. Let's not be know-it-alls! It sounds weird to say, but a person needs to know you think their pain is special...it's all their and very personal to them. I hope that makes sense.
Another conversation I had at the gym really made me think too. One of my best friends in the whole world is going through a challenge within her family. This causes her great stress and emotion. What she is going through is very similar to something I had gone through prior to my mom's passing. My relationship with my mom had many facets and some were well, a bit challenging to say the least. I can offer my friend Godly wisdom because I have been there. I have walked her path and I simply get it. I have also completely blown it so I can offer ideas of what NOT to do! She can ALWAYS talk to me about what is on her heart. God has blessed both of us with each other. I'm so thankful to God that I can pass along some of the things I learned through my time of dealing with trouble.
Our church is a large church so it is crucial to get involved in a small group if you desire any sort of connection. This is where you really can build relationships. Pastor Bobby says we do life together in our small group. We were talking about this topic at our last meeting which was last Thursday. Building relationships takes time and effort. It takes making investments in people's lives. It takes getting out of our own heads. If your anything life me you also find that to be a challenge! Quality of relationships is so important. Of course having a new friend is different than our old faithfuls, but my point is we need to invest ourselves into them new or old.
We also cannot be afraid to be real with people. We can be real with those people we deem "safe." When two people invest into each other they both can be real with each other and get beyond the surface. I don't have to be stoic all the time. I hurt. I get discouraged. My heart gets heavy at times. Things bother me and I have a few close friends that I can share those hurts, discouragements, and heavy times with. They can always share their troubles with me. I want to be a safe person to them and I want to never be too busy for them.
I feel like this is a blog that may be hard to follow my point. I'll try and sum it up better than I wrote the above paragraphs. Satan wants us to feel like we are the person in the world with trouble. He wants us to feel alone and isolated. He also wants me to feel like if I had any faith at all I would not be struggling. Lies! All lies. We are not alone. God carries us through tough times. I know for a fact that is true. Part of the reason we go through pain and God comforts us is so we can do the same for someone else. We have to be safe for people, be real, and genuinely care. We can't be afraid to share our story and how we made it through or are making it through. I must remind myself often to get out of my own head and to reach out to another. Pastor Bobby said Thursday that we have to make investments in people with authentic hearts.
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