God is Safe

In a world in which we are all just walking each other Home, we're also all looking for safe spaces along the way. Shelters in the storm. Refuges from the weary brokenness of this world. And, quite honestly, someone who is just walking us home. 

And we have all been wounded by folks who have turned out not to be safe at all. 

Folks who couldn't keep our secrets. Who used our story as fodder for gossip. Folks who don't actually have an interest in us but have a great interest in knowing things and who build their reputation on always being in the know. Actually, that's why we gravitate toward them; they always seem to know what's going on, so we think that makes them a reliable source of confidence when, in fact, some of the persons who are always in the know are quite toxic. Knowing, not loving, is their thing. 

Folks who thrive on drama. They love inserting themselves into everything because it fuels them. And they have this unique ability to blow everything up in their mind and make mountains out of molehills...and then instantly be willing to die on them. They create their big stories out of your little one and there's not an ounce of anything you can tell them that will change their mind. They take your life and they run away with it and all of a sudden, you're completely out of control of your own being. Forget being safe; you just want your story back. 

Folks who are so distracted by their own story that they can't invest in yours. We live in a world that listens to respond more than it listens to love, and this is true in the ways that we relate to one another. Sometimes, we think we've found a kindred spirit and a safe person, but if we look at it a little closer, we realize that we're just trading war stories; neither one of us is doing anything about the foxhole we're in. 

Yes, sadly, safe persons are hard to find. We're all so laden with our own baggage that it's hard to find someone who is able to push it all aside and truly be the kind of refuge we need (unless you're willing to pay a professional for the privilege, but even then, it's not a guarantee). 

But on this journey we're all making Home, we do have one good Friend along the way. One truly Safe Space. One set of arms into which to fall, one heart to hear beating, one embrace that makes all things well. 

God, the prophet Joel says, is a safe place for His people (3:15-16). 

In the darkest of days, in the hardest of times, when the sun and moon go dark and the stars no longer shine and thunder roars and the whole earth trembles, God will be a safe place. 

A shelter in the storm. A refuge from the weary brokenness of this world. A strong fortress on a shaking ground. The whole earth may tremble, but God's hold on us is strong. He takes us in His hands and covers us. 

Loving is His thing. 

He doesn't share our secrets; He whispers love into our ears. He doesn't thrive on our drama; He restores our soul. He's not so distracted by being God that He can't invest in us; we are His treasure. In all the ways that we fail each other and are failed by each other in this world just looking for one safe place, God never fails. Not once. 

And that's how, the prophet continues, we know He is the Lord. 

Unnamed

I have been sharing stories of persons who have shaped my life - the way that I think about things, the things I think about myself, the ways that I interact with the world. And until today, I have named each one of them. But today, I am not going to use a name. 

I want to, but things still feel a little fragile with this person (which is probably entirely me and not them), and I don't want to put the weight of a single moment on it right now. I am mindful of the ways in which telling my story, especially where it intersects with others, is to also tell their story. And doing so can change a dynamic. 

But I've been thinking about this person, and this moment, a lot lately. It was a moment in which my confidence got the best of me. My confidence and my woundedness. 

It was one of those moments that started with me feeling like I wasn't being taken seriously. Like I wasn't being given credit for being as capable as I am. Yes, it was one of those moments that started with an omission - not an outright rejection, but an omission. 

I wasn't asked to do something. 

I wasn't asked not to do it. I wasn't told not to do. I just wasn't asked to do it. And in my indignant little soul, I was standing there completely offended. I'm just as good and capable as anyone else. Doesn't this person know who I am? Is it because I'm a girl? 

And it seemed stupid. I mean, I was asked to go do another part of the task that would put me right adjacent to the part of the task I was not asked to do. Meanwhile, someone else would be waiting until I finished my part of the work to come and do the thing I wasn't asked to do. Doesn't it make more sense for me to just do the whole thing, since I'm going to be standing right there? Makes sense to me. Makes more sense than for me to walk all the way over to where I need to do my part, then walk all the way back to inform someone else it's time for them to walk all the way over there to do their part, which would bring them right back to where we both already started. 

And I was totally capable. It was a simple sort of thing, the kind of thing I had done a thousand times, though not in this particular situation or with this particular piece of equipment. But...I got this. So I'm going to surprise them all, cut out the middle man, and come riding in like a triumphant little soldier on a victory lap. 

Until I didn't. 

Until I got stuck. 

Until part of the task took me by surprise and caught me in a way that I wouldn't have expected. And, suddenly completely unsure of myself, I stopped mid-task and left the whole thing in a very precarious place. 

And I never heard another word about it. Not then. Not since then. It's been almost a decade since that moment, and this person has never brought it up. In fact, I think the only thing said at that time was a little lesson about how I could have gotten through that little trouble spot and could have done it. 

This person gave me the grace to fail...and then to just move on. And for some reason, I have been thinking about this moment a lot recently and thinking about what a tremendous gift it is. 

If I hadn't been in a position to fail, I wouldn't have been in a position to succeed, either. You never succeed at anything you don't try, and you don't learn anything new without trying. For example, that day, I learned that I wasn't as capable as I thought I was and that maybe others had more understanding about certain things than I did. But I also learned how to do it better next time, if there ever is a next time, and I think that if there is, that person would tell me I could do it - even with all the evidence to the contrary. The fact that, when I took the chance that wasn't given to me, I couldn't do it. The next time there's a chance, it might be given to me. By the very same person. 

And I want to be that person. I want to be that person that's safe to fail around. I want to be that person who will let you try, embrace the teaching moment, and then throw you the keys the next time it comes around. I want to be a teacher full of grace and encouragement as much as wisdom and knowledge. 

I thank this person for that example. Which, by the way, they keep setting for me, even now.  

God Pays Back

Some seasons of life are harder than others. They require more, they take more, they leave less behind. They put us in a mindset where every day is a grind, where we aren't sure whether we'll make it through...or what we might look like if we do. Everything that we have is put on the table, and then it feels like Jesus flips that table, and we're left wondering what on earth is happening. 

What in the heavens is happening. 

I have known many persons who have encountered such tough seasons. I think nearly all of us have. Struggle seems to be universal in a fallen world, just as Jesus promised it would be. (In this world, you will have trouble.) 

But what is also true is that struggle doesn't last forever. And when it finally comes to an end, God pays us back for the times of trouble we've had (Joel 2:25). 

That's been God's story from the very beginning. From slavery to the Promised Land. From exile back home. From the pile of ashes to the life of abundant blessings. If you read God's story, every chapter comes back to a tremendous blessing that is built on the former burden. It's just the way God works. 

Now, of course, there are some exceptions here. There are persons who get so addicted to the drama that they don't know how to function without it, so they keep running their lives off the rails because that's what feels most comfortable to them. They never experience the blessings of God because they're too busy stuck where they're at to come out of it. That's not on God; that's on them. 

And I've worked with enough hospice families to know that we don't always get God's return investment in the seasons in which we want it. Our loved ones still die. We still suffer. Life is hard. Pain is real. Grief is overwhelming. But I've also had the opportunity to run into a handful of these families just a short season later, and I can see it - I can see how their lives are coming full again. 

And that's really it - when we say that God pays back for times of trouble, what we're really saying is that God makes full the things that this world empties out. When you've poured your last pour from what was once an overflowing cup, God overfills you again. When you hear the pain echo through the hollow halls of your aching heart, God puts a new song in that empty space. 

Over and over and over again, we're living lives where God keeps patching the cracks, gluing the pieces back together, and filling us up...just when the world thinks it's shattered us beyond repair and laughs at the mess of our lives that has spilled out all over the floor. 

Nah, world. You just made room for more. And God...the Lord my God...has always been a God of more. 

So if you're going through a tough season, know that God is already working on it. He's already building the treasure He's going to pour back into you. Read His story again if you have to and see how He's done it again and again and again and again, for persons just like you. 

That first drop hits like water in the desert and then, before you know it, your cup overflows again with all the goodness of God who does not leave His people empty. 

God of Kindness

There are persons in this world who believe that the world is a dangerous place. Certainly, it's nothing like it was 30 years ago. The things that we used to do as kids, most parents today would never let their kids do - things like stay out all day without some kind of tracking device (or cell phone), ride their bikes all over town, knock on neighbors' doors, etc. It just doesn't seem safe. I mean, have you seen this world? 

Social media is full of unproven stories about suspicious persons following shoppers through the stores, eyeing young children, lurking in parking lots. Almost every single one of these stories has been proven false, with no actual police record to document any such occurrences, but it doesn't stop the stories from striking fear and gossip in the hearts of those who fear this world. 

The thing is, if you're really paying attention, there's more kindness in this world than there is anything else. 

There are more persons willing to pull an item off the top shelf for an elderly shopper than there are thieves waiting to steal her purse. More persons willing to take that shopping cart off your hands in the parking lot than try to carjack you. More persons who will pick up the little toy your toddler just dropped and hand it back to him than are looking to take him out of your hands. More persons who will hold a door for you than slam one in your face. And the numbers aren't even close. 

Kindness in this world is at least 10,000 to 1 over evil. 

And for good reason. 

Because God leads people with human kindness (Hosea 11:4). 

Kindness is one of the gifts God has given us to give each other. It's one of the ways He is reaching out to us. It's how He is guiding us to better things, to be better persons, to trust a little more, to accept love, to treasure grace, to do what He's called us to do in this world - to "one another" one another. 

And if your life has ever been touched by kindness, you get it. You know how it draws you a little bit closer to your neighbor, and a little bit closer to God. You know how it strengthens your tired hands to take a new grip on a weary life. You know how it encourages your heart. You know how it prompts you to take that next big step, trust that next big thing, try something new. 

One small act of kindness coming into your life makes you feel like you can do anything, at least for the next little bit. It makes you feel like you can go one more minute, one more day, one more mile. One more smile. It makes you want to reach out to the person next to you, and them to the one next to them, and on and on until kindness spreads through the world. 

And all of a sudden, it doesn't seem like such a scary place any more. 

Because it isn't. 

The world is full of kindness. It is God's gift to us, and His gift for us to give one another. It's how He leads us through this broken life - one anothering with one another, walking each other Home, on our way back to Him. 

God Strengthens

Most of my friends know that I'm a runner. I enjoy running, and I will push myself to great lengths to do it every chance that I get. 

But being a runner isn't just about running. That is, if all you ever do is run, you won't be very good at it, you won't get faster, you won't be able to go further, and you'll probably get injured. A lot. You might make progress in some of these areas, but your progress will be slow and small and, at times, incredibly discouraging. And, if you're running for fitness, then running alone is unlikely to dramatically change your body composition. At least, not in the ways that you want it to. 

If you want to be a good runner, you have to be a cross-trainer. You have to invest yourself in strength and resistance workouts just as much. You have to give your body some definition across all muscle groups if you want to use most efficiently those muscle groups that power your running. And doing so gives your body the kind of definition that you're looking for, too. 

Strength and resistance training are kind of tough. It's not just about lifting weight; it's about lifting weight over and over again. It's about doing it once, then doing it twice. It's about doing it more tomorrow than you did it yesterday. It's about getting in reps, and then doing those reps in more sets.

That's not numerical; it's not a statistic. It's about tearing your muscles a little bit at a time so that they can fill back in with muscle. It's about tearing them again so they can put a little more muscle there a second time. It's about moving them in a bunch of different ways so that you're opening up all kinds of spaces for new muscle to grow. It's about doing something, letting your body feel it, then doing it again to remind your body what it feels like. 

The repetition is key. Our bodies depend on it. 

So does our faith. 

As Hosea was working his way through an unfaithful marriage and through chasing his wayward wife down again and again, proving his love, redeeming her, chasing her, demonstrating God's faithfulness, he reflected that God trains and strengthens us (7:15). And the way God does this is the same way that we do with our bodies. 

He does it through repetition. Through stressing and straining and creating spaces for bigger faith muscles to fill in, then stressing and straining all over again. Through giving us opportunities to do it all over again, to keep believing, to keep hoping, to keep loving, to keep praising. Through letting us feel it, then letting us feel it again.

Because only when you start to feel it again do you start to understand how strong you really are, how strong you're getting. 

If all you ever do is the same thing you've always done, you won't be very good at it. You won't get faster nor go further, and you'll probably get hurt. A lot. Whatever progress you do make will feel so small and so slow as to be discouraging, and you won't see the kinds of changes in your life that you want. 

That's why you have to cross-train your faith. Not just persevere in the same practices you've always had, but invest in new things. Engage in strength and resistance. Let your faith stretch you, tear you a little bit. Let it create spaces in your life to get stronger. That's how you get the kind of life of faith that you want. 

And God is good to do it. He's always right there cheering you on, pushing you, inviting you to pick it up and do it one more time, one more time, one more time. 

Believe. Trust. Hope. Love. Live. 

That's how we get stronger.