What do you do when it’s over?

 

There are certain situations we are given in life where we truly appreciate and welcome the finality of them.  A toxic relationship; a job where you are treated as if you have no value; overcoming addiction.  These are things that we are thankful for the good Lord locking the door for us to never look back.  Those are seen as such a blessing.  In times like these, our knees may hit the floor, and we look up to heaven with the loudest and most vocal “Thank you!”  

But what do we do when something is final, and we don’t feel like a gesture of gratitude is deserved?  How do we handle those situations?  It’s so easy to say that in spite of the difficulty and hardship we are facing, we should still rejoice.  It’s easy for me to sit on the outside and tell you how God is still moving and working in your life behind the scenes.  I have a friend who just lost her mother; I have another friend who just lost her pet, who was a family member for 19 years; my ex boyfriend was given a terminal diagnosis and is literally fighting for his life in his 40’s.  These are things that are painful and hard-core real-life events that even for the seasoned Christian would be situations where it would be hard to find the silver lining.  

When I began my search for meaning in my own life, I was battered and bruised and had pain buried so far down in my soul that there was no drug or no quantity of alcohol that could cure it.  Believe me, I had tried everything.  The first thing I received from the Holy Spirit was the idea that even through all the multitude of sins that I was living in, was that I still had a purpose in this life, and I still had value.  Up until that point, I never felt I was worthy of anything.  I felt as if I was my mistakes, not that I had made mistakes.  I feel like as Christians, we have stained the name of Jesus so badly that people turn to anything but Jesus when they are at the end of their rope and on their last leg.  I have seen over the last 13 years, people walk into the church building with that same look on their face that I once had.  And I can honestly say… “I DON’T CARE!”  I don’t care what you did last night.  I don’t care that you have been to prison.  I don’t care what mistakes you have made.  I don’t care that you’re probably still blowing a .08.  I don’t care because Jesus doesn’t care.  He’s just glad you showed up.  If you find yourself in a bad situation, sitting amongst a group of people who don’t wrap their arms around you without hesitation, then you need to leave immediately, because I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus isn’t in that building.   For the last 13 years, it has been my purpose to share with others that feeling of belonging and love.  That feeling of, ‘sure you fell short yesterday, but today is a new day’.  Thankfully, I have found 20 other souls who share in that same sentiment.  I am blessed enough to be friends with people who uplift me and encourage me and help me when the storms of life come.  

And I’m very self-aware.  I’m aware of every single area in which I struggle and fall short.  But when it comes to those times, I no longer search for comfort in places that don’t elevate me to the calling that has been placed on my life.  Can I say that I will never go searching in the wrong place?  Absolutely not.  But what I can say is that for today, I’m not.  

There is no shortage of hurting people in this world.  They are everywhere.  Everyone in this world has a purpose, no matter what.  There are no exceptions to that.  Some people haven’t been afforded the same peace that I carry with me in my soul.  I know no matter what situation may come my way that everything will be ok.  

In my group of friends, we are currently facing a finite situation.  We are facing a situation where we are likely to no longer have a building where we can worship on Sunday.  And thinking back on the people who have impacted my life in a positive way, those who reached out a hand to pull me up when I was at my lowest, those who offered a word of encouragement and love…those situations never took place inside a church building.  Perhaps this is one of those situations where God is closing the door for a reason.  Perhaps this is Him telling us that we shouldn’t be sitting in a building at all.  I probably shouldn’t mention this while trying to promote a relationship with Jesus Christ, but I can tell you that I have, at times, been helped the least in a building with Christians and the most sitting in a house where people sell dope.  And that’s real.  Maybe God is leading us in a direction for us to physically go to people and show them that they are loved and valued.  I’m not talking about slapping people across the face with the bible, but by just loving them exactly where they are.  All people want in this world is to be loved, valued, and validated.  A lack of any of those things is why relationships fail, why there are misunderstandings and bad feelings, and have the potential to fuel the bitter fire of resentment and spite.  

So back to my initial question…what do we do when someone is facing a ‘final’ situation and it’s not something they want? And it hurts? And it’s not fair?  And it’s not a blessing?  What do we do?  It’s simple…We go to them. We sit with them.  We listen to them.  We let them know they aren’t facing the situation alone.  And most of all we pray words of comfort over them.  

And the good news is that you don’t have to be a ‘member’, sitting in a church building to accomplish those things.  ❤️