- Nov 17, 2022
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Share the Love
By: Deborah Durrett
A dear friend made her journey to the Jesus side of life a couple weeks ago. As I awaited her memorial service the following week, I had time to ponder my memories with her. We met in a ministry where I worked, and she volunteered. The ministry was focused on supporting the children and families affected by living with special needs. The support for them came in the form of monthly respite nights for parents to have down time while their kids were in a safe and loving environment. Each participant was paired with a buddy for the evening that began with a meal with the kids, buddies, and other volunteers involved followed by the groups rotating between interactive activities and a craft. Andrea volunteered as the nurse on duty and her daughter paired up with one of the kids as a buddy. The ministry also hosted a respite weekend annually and one of the years Andrea and her daughter also joined the group in those same roles. They both shared with me the desire to give the gift of kindness and compassion just for the sake of it and from that starting point friendship began.
Little did I know that I would have the honor of sharing a much deeper friendship over several years and it was made possible by just following my heart even at times I truly had no idea what I was doing-it had to be the leading of the spirit. Many of the inklings I had to reach out happened at key times when she needed support and that certainly verified spiritual intervention. It is so natural for people to be afraid of approaching others when they fade in and out and are dealing with tough issues-I have been guilty of it too. I have also been misunderstood as I struggled, and those who said they cared were nowhere to be found. While it is hard to get it right no matter what you believe or how you walk out your days if I consider myself a follower of Christ it automatically includes a higher standard of being there for people in time of need. It needs to be done in love, in God’s timing and with limited focus on our own emotions-but he did give us the ability to use our natural emotions most effectively when we seek his guidance.
What I have discovered is when I am focused mainly on what God’s will is in a situation there is a balance of times I will enjoy being a support within his leading and other times it will be a real struggle-because I am human. Fact of the matter is Andrea, too, contended with some serious issues-many of which were foreign to me. And although I experienced enjoyable times with her, some of the most important interactions I had with her were hard-because I knew she had struggled and likely would again and I wished I could do more for her. Still yet, knowing her was worth every second I was blessed to spend with her.
People will use the phrase, “You are so strong, a warrior, a fighter.” And sadly, many, including myself, have used those words to excuse themselves-perhaps-from choosing to stand beside someone who is tired of being that strong fighting warrior. It is a battle of the mind to choose to be there as well as being a battle to tell someone you need support, but we humans must keep trying in our own way; seeking the support of the spirit of God that is waiting to lift us to places we never thought could be so beautiful. They include sadness, joy, and everything in between. There are some situations that we must be cautious of when it comes to support-like those including physical and emotional abuse, ones in which someone has given signs of potentially being suicidal, or things too dangerous in some other way to manage on our own.
There may also be situations we have done all we are able and need to let others help us-it does not mean we failed. We may need to include professional support in addition to our own support or instead of it. Although there are still parts of each of our journeys that we must walk alone. It does not mean that no one cares, but those parts are beyond the scope of human intervention. Whether you have a relationship with Jesus or not, an effort to be kind is always a welcomed choice. But if you have chosen to be part of God’s family by way of the Savior, then it should now be grafted into your DNA to think about how God can use you to impart kindness. As you study God’s word, pray about understanding more, and feel the overflowing love you have been given-it will become more natural sharing it with others. Because falling in love is not something people generally keep to themselves-they want the world to know about it. The difference between a friend of the world and a friend knowing the savior often boils down to showing love in a way that does not waver in truth (in love: Ephesians 4:14-16) no matter what the circumstances surrounding us can dictate, how we feel, or what others say. Sometimes that means it is very hard whether it means saying or doing something, remaining silent or inactive, or a bit of both. Sometimes we need to wait (Psalm 27:14) and other times we need to have proof in our actions of what we say we believe-but not doing things for the sake of being credited (James 2:14-16).
As we put together listening and doing in the right balance it results in serving not being polluted by the world in which we once lived in (spiritually speaking) that even on its best day will be merciless (James Chapter 1). Taking our focus off God’s desires leaves us vulnerable to straying from the beauty of true freedom-the power in us to make the choices that will set us free (Psalm 119:32). We cannot just say we are walking out truth as we know if our actions find themselves to be consistently anything but loving in the way each person needs and how God intended us to pass it along. He knows us and he knows them. I am glad I shared the love God gave me with my friend, and if in anything I said, did, or even just quietly showed may have played a small part in her choosing Jesus as her savior, I am just honored he guided my steps along the way.
“Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth easily beset us, and let us run the patience the race that was set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2a KJV)
“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an external weight of glory far beyond all comparison as we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 TLV)
By: Deborah Durrett
A dear friend made her journey to the Jesus side of life a couple weeks ago. As I awaited her memorial service the following week, I had time to ponder my memories with her. We met in a ministry where I worked, and she volunteered. The ministry was focused on supporting the children and families affected by living with special needs. The support for them came in the form of monthly respite nights for parents to have down time while their kids were in a safe and loving environment. Each participant was paired with a buddy for the evening that began with a meal with the kids, buddies, and other volunteers involved followed by the groups rotating between interactive activities and a craft. Andrea volunteered as the nurse on duty and her daughter paired up with one of the kids as a buddy. The ministry also hosted a respite weekend annually and one of the years Andrea and her daughter also joined the group in those same roles. They both shared with me the desire to give the gift of kindness and compassion just for the sake of it and from that starting point friendship began.
Little did I know that I would have the honor of sharing a much deeper friendship over several years and it was made possible by just following my heart even at times I truly had no idea what I was doing-it had to be the leading of the spirit. Many of the inklings I had to reach out happened at key times when she needed support and that certainly verified spiritual intervention. It is so natural for people to be afraid of approaching others when they fade in and out and are dealing with tough issues-I have been guilty of it too. I have also been misunderstood as I struggled, and those who said they cared were nowhere to be found. While it is hard to get it right no matter what you believe or how you walk out your days if I consider myself a follower of Christ it automatically includes a higher standard of being there for people in time of need. It needs to be done in love, in God’s timing and with limited focus on our own emotions-but he did give us the ability to use our natural emotions most effectively when we seek his guidance.
What I have discovered is when I am focused mainly on what God’s will is in a situation there is a balance of times I will enjoy being a support within his leading and other times it will be a real struggle-because I am human. Fact of the matter is Andrea, too, contended with some serious issues-many of which were foreign to me. And although I experienced enjoyable times with her, some of the most important interactions I had with her were hard-because I knew she had struggled and likely would again and I wished I could do more for her. Still yet, knowing her was worth every second I was blessed to spend with her.
People will use the phrase, “You are so strong, a warrior, a fighter.” And sadly, many, including myself, have used those words to excuse themselves-perhaps-from choosing to stand beside someone who is tired of being that strong fighting warrior. It is a battle of the mind to choose to be there as well as being a battle to tell someone you need support, but we humans must keep trying in our own way; seeking the support of the spirit of God that is waiting to lift us to places we never thought could be so beautiful. They include sadness, joy, and everything in between. There are some situations that we must be cautious of when it comes to support-like those including physical and emotional abuse, ones in which someone has given signs of potentially being suicidal, or things too dangerous in some other way to manage on our own.
There may also be situations we have done all we are able and need to let others help us-it does not mean we failed. We may need to include professional support in addition to our own support or instead of it. Although there are still parts of each of our journeys that we must walk alone. It does not mean that no one cares, but those parts are beyond the scope of human intervention. Whether you have a relationship with Jesus or not, an effort to be kind is always a welcomed choice. But if you have chosen to be part of God’s family by way of the Savior, then it should now be grafted into your DNA to think about how God can use you to impart kindness. As you study God’s word, pray about understanding more, and feel the overflowing love you have been given-it will become more natural sharing it with others. Because falling in love is not something people generally keep to themselves-they want the world to know about it. The difference between a friend of the world and a friend knowing the savior often boils down to showing love in a way that does not waver in truth (in love: Ephesians 4:14-16) no matter what the circumstances surrounding us can dictate, how we feel, or what others say. Sometimes that means it is very hard whether it means saying or doing something, remaining silent or inactive, or a bit of both. Sometimes we need to wait (Psalm 27:14) and other times we need to have proof in our actions of what we say we believe-but not doing things for the sake of being credited (James 2:14-16).
As we put together listening and doing in the right balance it results in serving not being polluted by the world in which we once lived in (spiritually speaking) that even on its best day will be merciless (James Chapter 1). Taking our focus off God’s desires leaves us vulnerable to straying from the beauty of true freedom-the power in us to make the choices that will set us free (Psalm 119:32). We cannot just say we are walking out truth as we know if our actions find themselves to be consistently anything but loving in the way each person needs and how God intended us to pass it along. He knows us and he knows them. I am glad I shared the love God gave me with my friend, and if in anything I said, did, or even just quietly showed may have played a small part in her choosing Jesus as her savior, I am just honored he guided my steps along the way.
“Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth easily beset us, and let us run the patience the race that was set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2a KJV)
“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an external weight of glory far beyond all comparison as we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 TLV)
