Monday, July 8

had long talk with a, who was feeling troubled.

i tried to listen without giving advice, as i am wont to do.

several issues came up, and i tried to share some of my experiences to help her. the following is basically what i shared, along with my stories. please correct me if i'm being blasphemous. i wish i had the verses to bust out as i was sharing, but alas! i'm not as good as student of the Word as i should be. maybe i'll insert as i find em. or maybe you can help me, and i'll put em in.

1) fair vs unfair. what we deserve.

-this is something that i used to struggle with a LOT in my past. until what was said in the bible entered my think head.

we are all sinners, excepting none. there is only one destination for such: eternal separation from God.

thus, what we receive, what we have NOW, are amazing blessings and gifts from God. what we don't deserve, but have received nonetheless.

salvation. who among us deserves to receive salvation and go to heaven? no one is deserving. yet God has given us this amazing grace.

the things in our lives. our family, friends, health, the opportunities in our lives... all wonderful blessings from our God.

when you contemplate this, how small and petty that dispute with your friend becomes. how small that thing you don't have becomes. how small your being fired from your job becomes.

2) loneliness.
you may feel as though the world is against you. or doesn't know that you exist. or doesn't care that you exist.

at times like these, know: Jesus loves you.

jesus loves me, this i know

for the bible tells me so

little ones to Him belong

we are weak but He is strong

yes, Jesus loves me!

yes, Jesus loves me!

yes, Jesus loves me!

the bible tells me so

3) this life is hard, this situation sucks. why can't he just take me into heaven now?

God has a plan for you. He wants to take you on a journey, so that you may experience things, see things, and thus be molded by His hand, to be changed by this awesome God.

but also, know:
God disciplines those He loves. this is something that we may or may not know. it's hard to know and realize this while something is actually going on in our lives.

4) God's will vs. my will.
-conflict arises when you want to do things your way. it is hard to surrender. to WANT to surrender. but that is what love is. a big part of love is surrendering, making yourself vulnerable.

in the book, julie of the wolves, one thing i'll never forget: when a lobo wolf wants to join a pack, he will lower his nose under that of the pack leader, and then will lay down on his back, letting the leader and the pack know several things: that he submits to the leader of the pack, and by laying on his back, he is making himself vulnerable to the pack. in essence, he is saying, if you want to tear me apart right now, you can. i'm defenseless. but i trust that you won't, that you will love me and treat me well.

it's a hard thing, for people like us who are independent, self-sufficient, and proud of being tough, to become vulnerable.

5) humility
-shared my numerous stories of how my God has humbled me in oh-so-many ways:
spiritually, academically, in basketball, in relationships, and in the pursuit of less-than-holy-things (girls).

(or more accurately, that which causes ME to be less holy)

there was more, but basically, this person felt better about herself, about how GOD saw her, and resolved to do something that would be hard, that might be humiliating, but which she knew was right, and would right the relationship between her and a friend.

i am so thankful for this exchange. for one thing, i was forced to think deeply about many truths which i don't visit often. secondly, i was forced to approach things from a different perspective from a churched-my-entire-life perspective that i normally have. thirdly, i was witness to God speaking to this person and working in her for the past few weeks. literally, God is changing this person, and molding her. just absolutely amazing.

Thank you, God, that i am somehow a part of this, and able to witness Your mightly hand.




yakob at 2:26 AM

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