We all fall down.

 

 

  

Matthew 11:28-30

 Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find much rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.

 

 

 

I wrote a little blog the other day...

the one where I pretty much laid out my heart on the table for all to see.

 

I had my doubts, like I often do,

on the kind of response an honest blog like that would receive.

 

But, as I also often do,

I prayed.

 

I prayed that God would have His will with the post.

I prayed that He would send it to whoever needed to read it and go with it to cover them with His love in their time of need or suffering.

That it would bless someone.

Even only one.

 

I've been so overwhelmed with the positive responses from this blog post.

 

I have received emails, phone calls, text messages, facebook comments and private messages, and even my one very special comment here on the blog itself.

(I don't get many of those, but when I do...they mean the world to me!)

Several people even shared the post on their facebook wall and pinterest board.

"People bond more deeply over shared brokenness than they do over shared beliefs."
~Heather Kopp

 

I'm not at all giving myself credit here.

This was not me.

To be perfectly honest...

it was hard to pick myself up the other day.

Only by His grace was I able to get off the floor of despair.

 

This is all God's doing.

 

When I was in the midst of all of that hurt the other day,

 feeling beaten and knocked down emotionally,

I had one of two choices...

 

1. give up

or

2. keep moving

 

That's it.

I chose to keep moving forward because I heard God whispering in my ear to do so.

But, part of me didn't see an end to the mess.

 

 I prayed and pleaded with Him,

 

"Even though I am hurting God, and this situation is a huge mess,

I know that Your goodness will shine through. I know that you can turn this around for Your good. Take this cup Lord, because I can not do this without You."

 

When I began to receive all of the messages from friends and people I barely know,

I realized God was definitely working things out for His good.

He was doing exactly what I prayed for...
sending the post out to those who needed it and turning my mess into something beautiful.
He was touching their hearts as they read it.

He was turning my hurt around and using it to bless someone else.

Bringing beauty up out of the ashes of my despair.

I can't tell you how humbled I was by this.

 

It also showed me one very important thing...

 

we all fall down.

 

Most of the responses were from someone who was going through something similar that I was,

and desperately needed words of encouragement.

 

They didn't need to know the details of my situation either.

They just needed to know that someone feels the same way they do from time to time.

That someone else out there falls down from the blunt unexpected hit of life.

That when they get knocked down, there is hope of rising up.

 

They needed to know that we all fall down and need God.

 

One of my dearest friends filled up my facebook message box with encouraging scriptures.

(You know who you are...I love you!)

 

This one really spoke to me...

 

Hebrews 13:5-6 “

… God has said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’”

 

He will never leave me.

He will never leave you.

 

He is our Helper.

The One whom we must scream out "Help!" to.

It is then that we hear His whisper,

"I haven't left you. I'm here, keep moving.  I will never leave you."

 

And sometimes,

He sends that help in the form of a person, a friend with an encouraging Word,

a hand to lift you up when you are down and the promise of Hope.

 

That is where God's grace is multiplied,

when we offer it to one another in love and encouragement.

 

And the enemy,

the one that thinks he's so slick...

will use another one of his old tricks to make you think that you are better off alone in your pain,

or that you can't help that person who needs to hear what your heart has to say to bring hope.

 

His plan is to break up the very thing God came to give us...

relationship.

Hope in Christ alone.

Intimacy with Him and one another.

 

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

It’s better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there’s no one to help, tough!

 Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

 By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.

 

 

I found this yesterday on a blog I read,  and it also blessed me.  

It reminded me of how God has placed us all here together.

To fight the good fight!

 Side by side, arm in arm, hands clinched.

 

You don't pass by the fallen.

Don't pass by the fallen.
The Spirit that rose Him from the dead ...is in you... so you fall back.
You stop and you gather the workers.
You come alongside and you encourage the broken down...

You hold the space.
You make the call.
You bring the meal.
You hold the hand.
You smile sincere.
You pray the prayers they can't.

You pray the prayers they can't.
You hold up what can't stand any longer.
Because He loves relationship... and He often brings you as the Provision for someone else.
He brought you here.
It is all about something so much bigger than you... than them...
You push your shoulder into that space... and you hold it for them...so they can breathe.
~~A Seed Inspired

 

 

I am so thankful for each and every one of you and the sweet messages you have taken the time to send me over the past few days.

 

What a sweet reminder it was to me that we all fall down.

  

And when we do,

  God is there to pick us up.

  

Jonah 2:2

He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry."