Encountering God’s Love in Suffering & SicknessSample

“God’s love is made perfect in weakness”

Now we are that family, we are those broken people who need a table to weep at openly. We are the devastated, the lonely, the sometimes lost who need to be reminded of love and grace. We need the safe place to let our tears spill into our soup and spoil our dessert. The invitations exist, the tables are often set for us, but it can be exhausting work to live in the midst of your brokenness all the time. Some days we want to just be normal. I don’t want to be a spiritual giant facing a terrible disease. I want to be a mama, a wife, a friend, a member of a community. I get far too much credit for faith when all I’m really doing is sharing my weakness with honesty. I’m not the only one facing these hard moments. I’m just writing about them.

Some days I see my many girlfriends and loves moving toward me, broken and tearful at my latest news, and I want to go back to inappropriate jokes and thrift-store treasures and picking the best shade of grey for my living room. I see those tables set for me, those safe places that want to remind me of Jesus, the goodness of His plan, and the eternity of endless love that awaits me.

* Where are you in terms of living vulnerably, inviting others to see the messiness of your kitchen and your heart? Who could you invite this month to join you in that place?