Never Alone

 

I love seeing the body of Christ come together for someone in need.  I had the privilege this past weekend to join a dozen sisters in Christ, from varied backgrounds, for the benefit of a young mother who needed others to lift her up before the throne.  In a time of worship, praise, petition and encouragement, we prayed her into His presence to find truth, peace, assurance and foremost, her faithful Lord.  What a beautiful representation of the Body working together!

 

We were never meant to walk alone.  In the command to love one another, it is implied that we would come near to care for each other.  Loving is difficult to do from a distance.  However, drawing near requires vulnerability on both sides.  One must be willing to move towards another in need, and the one in need must be still, allowing the other to get close enough to love.  Moving and stillness do not always come easily, but are necessary.

 

We struggle to walk together.  But, our hearts long to be needed and loved.  We wrestle and strain to open ourselves up and make our broken places known, our weakness exposed and longings laid bare.  No one can enter our hard to get to and hurting places unless we choose to be vulnerable.  When we are willing to let others walk with us, we see the beauty of God’s plan unfold through loving one another.

 

We need to walk alongside each other.  When we choose to be vulnerable, it allows our hearts to knit together through shared life experiences.  Small openings provide connections.  The more connections we make, the deeper we share.  The deeper we share, the more love enters in allowing broken things to heal, weak things to be strengthened and longings to be filled.  Walking alongside each other and loving each other is the beautiful opportunity we have in the body of Christ—part of His perfect plan.

 

I am so grateful for the opportunity to join my sisters, walk with another who made herself vulnerable to us and represent the Body, as it was meant to be.  Through her vulnerability and our loving response, we all experienced a blessing which would have been missed had not all involved been willing to make themselves available and vulnerable.  The more often we engage in the activities of the body of Christ, the more we will reap blessings only discoverable there.  All you need is to join in, be vulnerable and walk together.