Be Still

YOU’RE LATE!

(Be calm)

DO THE DISHES! DO THE LAUNDRY! GET TO PRACTICE! DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

(Be still)

HURRY UP!!!

(Slow down)

I CAN’T DO THIS ALONE!!!!

(I am here)

____________________________

I can only speak for myself, but all too often, the overbearing, obnoxious screams of the “real world” are all I can hear.  There are places to go, people to see, jobs to do, mouths to feed…

Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in day to day living, we completely tune out the gentle whispers of God.  Instead of being calm, we become more rushed. Instead of asking for help, we pile the world on our shoulders and trudge on through. Have you ever seen a horse with blinders on it’s head? They are like two small shields on either side of the eyes to prevent the horse from seeing behind or to the sides.  Blinders keep the horse only focused on what is directly ahead of them.  Sometimes we feel like we are wearing blinders. We are so focused on working things out, accomplishing tasks, or living through a difficult moment that we forget to look at God, standing right beside us...ready to take some of that load off our shoulders. 

Ready to give us the rest we so badly need. 

...but if we don’t know He’s there, how can we allow Him to bear any of the load?

It’s hard. No one, not even God, ever said life would be easy. What God did say is that He will ALWAYS be here with us; that He is in control; that He only wants what is best for us.

I don’t like to wait...I don’t know many people that do. We want answers and we want them NOW. We want our houses cleaned, our children fed, our homework finished, or trials over, our sadness removed...and we want it on our time.

It doesn’t work that way. God has a plan. We need to trust. We need to listen; to ask for help. We need to talk to God.

Be still. 

No matter how much we want to control our lives, we can’t. Quiet yourself down, take a deep breath, and hand it over.

Because God is good. All the time.

It's The Little Things

A few weeks ago, FOCUS (high school youth group) watched a video about a woman who was labeled “the ugliest girl in the world.” It was a sad video-there was nothing funny about it. But there was a truth behind it not one of us could deny:

We have all put someone down at some point in our lives. We have all hurt someone. We have all said or done something we later regretted.

We went on to discuss how and why it is so much easier to bring others down than it is to raise them up.  We talked about possible reasons why we say and do the things we do...and then this happened:

Boy: “Hey Jamie, remember a few years ago, when you put sticky notes on the back of our shirts and we all went around and wrote nice things on each others backs?”

Me: “Yes, I remember.”

Boy: “I still have mine. Their stuck on my door…”

Multiple youth: “Yeah! I still have mine too! I look at them all the time. They make me happy.”

This was an activity that was done almost impulsively several years ago when I felt the group needed a pick-me-up. This was an activity I had forgotten about up until this point.. An activity I couldn’t believe these kids would remember.

But they did.

The little things make a difference. They make a big difference. These “little” things might be the only positive affirmation a child receives in a day...or a week…

These “little” things stick.

Kids are put down EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. We live in a culture that puts them down without even needing words.  It’s easy. It really is. And that is sad.

We aren't called to hurt one another. We are called to love one another. We are asked to love our neighbors as ourselves...to pick them up when they fall.

It doesn't take much. Seriously. Sticky notes. A kind word. A smile.

To you, it might be insignificant. To the person who feels broken and beaten and lost…

     It might be the world.

Take the time to think before you speak; not only how you are speaking to others, but how you are speaking ABOUT others.

Take the time to compliment someone. Say thank you. Smile. You can make a difference. It’s all about the little things.

God is good. All the time. 

Learning How to Sister

12:15pm; my phone rings. I look at the caller ID-my sister. I answer. 
     "Hey Jame! I was just calling to say hi. How are you?"

We chat for a while. We hang up. It hits me. I don't remember the last time either of us called to "just say hi." Actually, I can't remember the last time we called to just say anything. 

I think I forgot how to be a sister.

There is no real reason for the separation-not like a huge fight or traumatic event or anything, anyway. We are nearly 4 years apart- we have always been different; She was super athletic, outgoing, light-hearted, and funny. I was...well, I was into hunting and fishing, but loved hair and make-up. I was more of an introvert, and somewhat serious.

I know there was jealousy-and it went both ways.  I think it's safe to say we tolerated one another-occasionally had moments of friendship-but mostly, we just shared parents. 

How does that happen? Sisters are supposed to have this lifelong bond, like, from the moment the second enters the world, it's supposed to be an amazing, magical friendship that nothing or no one can tear apart. Sisters are supposed to go to one another with every high and every low. I spent much of my life wondering why my relationship with my sister wasn't anything like this predisposed ideation I grew up believing. Why didn't I consider her my best friend? Why didn't she think of me as hers? Why were we so different? 

And then we became adults. Adults with significant others, children, careers, hobbies, friends. We lived in different cities. We had different interests. We didn't dislike one another...we just-well, we just kind of forgot about one another. Life moved along-we'd see each other on holidays and the occasional visit-but otherwise, we each did our own thing. And if I'm being honest, I think we were both fine. We cared about one another, but kind of walked our separate paths. 

A few weeks ago, I began praying in a new way. I didn't just say a random prayer at a random point in the day; I made a point to sit down and pray intentionally. During this prayer, I was thinking about my sister and our past. I thought about Philippians 3:13~

        "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." 

Suddenly, I thought, ok, so we weren't close as kids. That was a long time ago! We are adults now-adults whose brains are significantly more developed than they were back then. Adults who can embrace each other's differences and likely even find something to gain from those differences. I only have one biological sister. I only have one life. It's time to forget what's behind and focus on how much time we still have ahead of us. 

A few weeks ago, I called my sister about a race my family is running. I was checking to see if she and her daughter wanted to join us for the weekend. At one point in the conversation, I remember saying, "we are going to figure out this sister thing yet." And I believe we are. Some people tell me I "wear a lot of hats"...and they are probably right. I am a mom, wife, friend, youth pastor, fixer, builder, baker, etc...I have recently set a few hats aside for a season or two because my focus was being stretched far too thin to manage and care for each "hat." But there is a hat I need to dig out, dust off, and put back on-

"Sister"

It will take work, and it will take time...but like all things-anything worth having is worth working for. Because of God, it's never too late to start over; it's never too late to try again. God is grace. God is love. and God is good. All the time.