Freedom in commonality

So recently, I joined a mission community through the church I attend. It was a great decision. As I get to know these people and dig deeper into what makes them tick, I find the list of things in common growing. Clearly what brought us all together is the love of Jesus and common belief in Christianity. It is more than that though as you see the journey each of us have taken to reach that point. Truly intriguing. I amaze myself at how at ease I am naturally with these people and how encouraged I am in just sitting and having a cup of coffee. And I think the reason for it is this; freedom of commonality. When you find a group of people whether through religion or work or history or whoever your people are, you may begin to feel that same feeling of comfort. It's a safe zone. A place where you know truly being yourself won't be left alone, bruised and battered. It's a vulnerable place to be. I think many can feel uncomfortable in such a place because of the said vulnerability. If any of you are like me, sometimes words are hard to verbalize and when you do it ends up being this giant fluster cluck. And add being vulnerable on top of that?? Seems real comfortable right?? Not so much. My point is this. In those people we find common ground, we also find trust. In finding a spouse, it's the highest form of common trust. Mutual agreement and respect. Our biggest hurdle then is learning to let that vulnerability be the reason for trust. Trusting a group of people with your insecurities and shortcomings. If we can teach our younger society to find common ground and learn freedom in that, don't you think that maybe, just maybe fewer kids would feel the need for seclusion? It's those who feel no common ground that take the dark journey to suicide or shootings or crime. It is those who feel as if no one understands that begin to think of their situation irrationally. As Christians, we often isolate ourselves because we feel guilty or that no one struggles with the same sins as we do. Even if you aren't a Christian, isolation for struggles surround us all every day. Remember the vulnerability? Because of that, I believe we use isolation as a crutch because it's easier to be alone with our thoughts than to try and verbalize(with difficulty) our struggles. For Christmas, a couple in my missionional community (MC) gave us all a New Testament translation called The Voice. The book of James is one of my favorite books in the New Testament so naturally, I decide to read through that. Oh my. Check this out. "God the Father is the giver of all things and is looking for every opportunity to bless us. But many people have difficulty trusting and receiving good things, even when those things come from God. The problem is that we not only have trouble trusting God's work in our lives, but as also don't always respond to God's voice. People often hear the Scriptures but don't really listen. People store truths in their brains but never put them to use. For James, the only good religion is religion lived out every day." 😳💥 Did anyone else stand up and cheer?? How spot on was that!! I am not good with verbage like that! I read the above passage after completely half this blog and I just chuckled. God is around us, my friends. Take a minute to close your eyes, take a deep breath and listen. 

Taking the time

So as we get close to the holidays, family starts coming into town, all the finishing details of presents and baking are in full swing and we all seem a little stressed. So as we get stressed and busy, we sometimes just don't have time for the details of our life that are most important. I was reminded of this just a little bit ago after putting Z(the 4yr old I nanny for) to bed. My brother, Isaac, whom I haven't seen in quite some time, came into town yesterday afternoon. Naturally, we somehow stayed up til 2 in the morning talking and catching up last night. Which then led to numerous prayers of patience and energy for work today. So as today progressed I noticed more down time and cuddles with all three kids since I don't have the energy to be running around playing hockey or tag. It has been so nice. Z is always the last to lie down for his nap so I crawled into bed with him for a few minutes. I asked him about his show and tell at preschool and how his morning went. As it turns out he had got in a little trouble for not listening and told me he hurt his own feelings. It was darling but also made me realize if I hadn't been tired and taken those couple moments to rest and talk to him, he probably wouldn't have recalled the days happenings and I would have missed an opportunity to encourage him. Parents and other nannies can sympathize with precious moments like that. As I walked down the stairs, I wondered how many times I have missed moments because I didn't taken the time to really talk to Z. I have done that with my niece Lydia as well in the past. She always takes a little encouraging to open up. Kids in that 4-7 range are so tough because they are finally independent and able to do most everything on their own. However, we can get so caught up in their independence, we forget to give them the extra time and love they need. Kids are such amazing tiny humans and I take them for granted way more than I should. So take some extra time this year for a one on one moment with the tiny humans in your life. They are worth it. You might be surprised what you ll find out.