Community...God's design.....

Never have I experienced authentic community more clearly than when I entered into a Bible Study with rules. Most people scorn at the thought of rules and strict instruction, but when I attended this Bible Study (the picture shows my awesome lady-friends), I was accountable in my marriage, job, outside relationships and my personal relationship with Jesus. I felt stretched and real. A bunch of ladies from many different countries with various English-speaking abilities gathered together to talk about God????.....who could've thought we would've felt totally comfortable to bear our souls to each other?......but for a common focus and purpose: to grow closer to the heart of Christ and imitate His character. Ah, the power of a common-focused relationship!

That was during the school year, but Bible Study has ended for the summer and already I am missing the challenging questions, enlightening conversations, and the real authenticity of being totally broken before God. And I miss the rules. We weren't allowed to talk about our individual churches, our pastors, or talk negatively about family members. We couldn't miss more than 3 times in a row and we couldn't "debate" or argue on doctrinal issues. The goal was to learn about Christ, grow closer to Him and bless each other. What a difference it made in me throughout the year!

As I wrote in my last post, this past week has been hard....busy...and somewhat lonely and heartwrenching. In the last three days, I have gone through some really stinky things.....non-stop dreams that wake me up at night, lack of energy and focus, and I heard four of my closest and dearest friends share that their husbands either wanted a divorce or that they were being treated cruely. Oddly enough, it was their desire to reconcile with their husbands and see God's best. Though these situations are not as bleak as what is going on in foreign lands, my heart is heavy and I long to see God reconcile these men to their wives in the same way I desire to see war-torn lands reconcile....God's heart is for reconciliation.... and relationship, too, because when their is true relationship, there is authenticity and vulnerability and where they are, reconciliation is possible.

What does this have to do with Bible Study....well, the relationships I built through the authentic study of God's Word encouraged me to reconcile relationships that had been severed and it humbled me to admit I suck. No really.....the more you understand yourself, the more you realize you suck, the more you see and put others before and ahead of yourself, the more you reconcile....see the correlation?? I am finding I need to go back to Bible Study. I need to be reminded of Philippians 2:2-4, which says:

"then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

I want my friend's husbands to treat them like this. I want to treat others like this, too. For now, my heart is heavy. Sorry for all the lowly posts...."this too shall pass" and as my mom always says, "it CAME here to PASS!"........I am praying for my dear friends and praying how I can be a help. I ache for them.......

may you be blessed with the gift of reconciliation today.