Absolutely ANYTHING!!!

This last week at Renaissance Road was awesome. (Just like it always is.) But Pastor Jason was talking about Jesus being the only way to God. And at the end of the service he did something that I don't think we've ever done at church. He asked us if we had someone in our lives that we knew needed Jesus in their lives. And to really get their face in our mind. He asked for those who had that person in their lives to stand to their feet so that we could all pray for them.

Although there are many, many friends like that in my life, there is one person in particular that God has given me a VERY strong burden for. So of course his face came to mind before Jason could even finish his sentence.

I've been sitting through both of our services lately, so I stood up at both this week for him. The second service though...God laid a even bigger burden on me for him. I ended up weeping for him. I just started crying and I couldn't control it. My heart breaks soooo much for this person. He's such a great guy. Has so much good in him but just doesn't see it himself. There's so much that God wants to use him for, if he would only open his heart to Him. I just wish he could see himself through God's eyes. And if not God's, just mine. I see so much in him. I see so much hurt and pain in his life through his decisions, I just want to take it all away and make it better. But I know thats not my responsibility.

There is nothing I wouldn't do to see him drawn back to God and to grow in his faith again. We sometimes tend to say we would do anything for this person...or that person. But do we? Do we still continue to show them God's unfailing love even when they are making poor life choices? Do we still extend a hand out to them just to let them know we're there for them...no matter what?

I hope I do. I hope that when it's all over I can look back and say I honestly gave it my all. That I never turned my back on this person. That I continued to love him through out it all. That I continued to lift him up in prayer instead of judging his life. That I continued to interceed for him. That I continued to simply believe in him. Cause I would truly do absolutely anything to help him draw close to God.

And having felt that way for him for as long as I have...I just got to thinking...what if we felt like that towards every single person who's lost? What if we felt like that towards that stranger on the street? What if we felt like that towards that co-worker who irritates us so bad?

Can you imagine what the world would be like? So what's stopping us?

And the healing begins...

So tonight Bailey has 2 friends staying the night. They decided they wanted to go walking around the neighborhood. And my very first instinct was NO! There's too many freaks out there. To much bad that can happen. But I told them they could go but had to stay on our street and be in by dark. (Lord I'm really starting to sound like my mom.)

So I told them 8:45 at the latest. At 8:38 they come in. And this is what I hear...Ummm we had a little accident. Bailey comes out from behind her friends and her lip is busted, chin and knees scraped up and has a scrap on her nose. First concern..how's the teeth. They're fine. Ok. Ice bag. Check. Wet paper towels. Check.

Bailey's laying on the couch like in a state of shock. Freaking out that she's going to look horrible for the last day of school. I'm telling her to not dwell on it. That everythings going to be fine. And of course she's acting like its the end of the world.

I talk her into moving to the couch downstairs so she can watch a movie with her friends. And I come upstairs...a few minutes later I hear her laughing loudly with the girls. I told her it wasn't a big deal. But she didn't want to listen. When she took her mind off of it...she was fine.

I wonder if that's how God feels sometimes when we're crying and sobbing about things in our life. Does He look down shaking His head thinking...Drama much? We tend to think that our circumstances are so huge and so overwhelming. When in reality, their temporary. If we'd just stop dwelling on them so much. Stop stressing about them. Just stop thinking about them....the healing would begin. We would see looking back that...wow...it really wasn't the end of the world.