Messy Life And Trusting God
Ignoring my family’s dirty dishes scattering the table, I mentally prepared for a busy morning. Each year, my husband and I host a Neighborhood Easter Party, and today was the big day. We spent weeks praying for the event, inviting a couple of volunteers to help, and organizing what we hoped would be a special time of celebrating the resurrection.
Before you start thinking, “Good for her, she’s killing it!” let me share the state of my heart at the time! Seeing God transform my neighborhood to reflect His kingdom is one of my greatest desires. But if I’m honest, it isn’t easy to cultivate with three young kids in tow. The never-ending pile of laundry, constant requests from my kids, and the exhausting task of feeding everyone, often distracts me from the joy of God’s invitation to be a light to the world. Many days I’m just trying to love my OWN family well, let alone be outward-focused!
As it happened, my memory verse for the month was Mark 10:45. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” I had been meditating on how I am meant to serve others, but God wanted to show me I didn’t have to deplete myself to serve. As the day progressed, neighbors brought meals they lovingly prepared for the event, my fourth-grade neighbor stuffed all my plastic eggs for me, and a friend came to lead activities for the kids.
That’s when I was reminded that loving my neighbor isn’t a solo activity–it’s a community effort. I can believe the lie that seeing my neighborhood transformed is all on me, but THANKFULLY it is not. This community took time to cultivate, but watching the way people loved each other’s children and how they provided a beautiful environment to celebrate was well worth the effort.
As I look forward to future activities with neighbors, I am encouraged by the thought that whatever I have to offer is good enough. I look forward to asking others to help me love my neighbors knowing that the end result will be a much fuller expression of love than I could give alone.
If you find yourself like me: wanting to love those around you but a little overwhelmed by the amount of energy it might require, may I challenge you to invite someone to come alongside you?
Our website has several places on “how-to” and gives practical tips to love the people around you. Check out this link here.
