It’s been a long time since I joined the Five Minute Friday link up. {See? Only twice in 2014. And not since Kate Motaung started hosting it.} But this morning when I was scrolling through my phone in bed, when the house was still quiet, I saw the prompt {SHARE} and I knew I had to write. So I did. On my phone. In the dark. All of that sort of signified what I wanted to say. Yes, sometimes there’s is darkness, but we don’t have to be in it alone.
If you don’t know about Five-Minute Friday, it’s a community of writers who each write for five minutes on the same word. Come join us.
We spend so much time teaching our kids to share their toys and their space. We want then to share their emotions using words. Sharing becomes the goal in life.
Now that I’m a grown up, I believe in community. It’s a way if life I certainly want to share with my kids. In community, we share. We share the space around our table. We share our stories.
But what happens when people you love dearly are walking down a hard road? We share that too. We share grief and tears. And we share hope that God redeems.
It’s a sharing I wasn’t prepared for, but one I realize I believe in. As I’ve shared a hard road with a friend recently, I’ve been thinking about a passage from Jen Hatmaker’s “Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity” ::
“Doesn’t this concept of being broken for others ring true? It’s a spiritual dynamic that bears out physically. Why is it so exhausting to uphold someone’s heavy, inconvenient burden? Why are we spent from shouldering someone’s grief or being an armor bearer? Why is it that lifting someone out of his or her rubble leaves us breathless? Because we are the body of Christ, broken and poured out, just as He was. … Mercy has a cost: someone must be broken for someone else to be fed. The sermon that changed your life? That messenger was poured out so you could hear it. The friends who stood in the gap during your crisis? They embraced some sacrifice of brokenness for your healing. Anytime you say, ‘That fed me, that nourished me,’ someone was the broken bread for your fulfillment.”
Sharing isn’t always easy, but it always has a purpose.
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Amen~ God uses us in a big way when we are willing to take a risk and share our journey with others who may need some encouragement from it. I loved your post and am so glad you linked up for this prompt. Your sharing is always a blessing. Happy Friday~
Kristin, this makes me take a hard look at how I love and walk down the hard road with others. Do I share the hope of Christ? Good message. One maybe I needed this morning as I continue to reflect on the words "make disciples" I referenced in my last post. Happy Friday to you! Much love. xoxo
I've been lurking on Twitter wanting to get back in this community of writers, so when I saw the prompt this morning, I knew it was time. Thanks for your sweet encouragement, Karen.
Yes, walking in life together and making disciples go so hand in hand. Have you read Jen Hatmaker's Interrupted? I know you don't need another book to read (!!), but it's addresses all of this so well. Love you, friend. xoxo
When Jesus wrecks our comfortable Christianity. Woah! How often do we encounter such? It's so easy to be a Christian when things are going our way and when we're just sitting comfortably at home, maybe blogging about it. Then a situation arises when we have to prove how Christian we are. Oh, Jesus has always done that, right? The way He shames the pharisees and high priests during His time by showing them how a Godly person SHOULD really live.
We have a good example. But I think like me, I need more courage to follow His footsteps.
Thanks for sharing this, Kristin. I have been shaken awake. 🙂
Love your post. I think, when we take on someone's troubles, we can be broken, but we learn so much, anyway, that the breaking (and putting back together again) of ourselves is a way of strengthening ourselves, ultimately. [A FMF friend]
Yes, indeed. I'm so thankful God doesn't leave us broken. Glad you came by, Helen!
I'm so glad this post spoke to you. I have more to say, but I'm finding the words hard. So five minutes was a good start. 🙂 Thanks for being here.
Glad I decided to click on your post!
Welcome back Kristin!!! I enjoyed so much your post!!! May God bless you
Yes!! We are meant to share both the good and the bad. "Weeping may come for the night but joy comes with morning"–Psalm 30:5
Thanks, Sandra! Enjoy your weekend.
So true. I'm glad you're here, Tara.
Yes! We share in the suffering! When we have suffered ourselves and come out on the other side because God worked all things for good, then we can minister. What a message the body of Christ needs to embrace. We don't like suffering though, do we, but no one is immune to it. We can suffer alone or offer it up to help another along the way.Blessings!
Oh boy. This spoke to me. It makes perfect sense too. I never thought about this before. Thanks for sharing insight Kristen.
Hi, Michelle! I'm glad you were encouraged with new insight.
I'd be lost without the body of Christ. I'm so thankful God gives us that blessing in life, even when it's a hard season for someone close. Thanks for your comment, Kathleen.