Baby Jack-Jack is our lifesaver. He was born the week Stringer went into the hospital and passed away. For the first year of his little life, we loved on that baby, and he loved on us. Jack is the best snuggle bunny in the whole world. You may not know this about him, but he is rare. He has a brain abnormality that causes him to be developmentally behind. As of today, he can’t walk yet.
The other day I was dropping off Jack-Jack at school. Unfortunately, all the parking spots were taken, even the two handicapped. So, I had to park way down at the end. Jack-Jack has a lot of stuff that I must take in with him. First, he is 35 pounds on my hip; he has his walker and bag. As I was getting everything out of my car, I felt a pat on my back. Rachel looked at me and said, “I am sorry, I am sorry that you had to park down here, and the handicapped spaces are taken.” At that moment, I began to cry.
It wasn’t about the parking places; it was the fact that Rachel saw me. She saw the real; she saw the hurt; she saw the tiredness and the frustration. She indeed saw me where I was.
While taking David Kessler’s grief counseling course, I learned that the number one thing you can do for people is meet them where they are and show them that you see them. For example, in Jennie Allen’s new book find your people, on page one, Jennie says, “Loneliness. I imagine you are here because you feel it too. That sinking feeling that you aren’t seen, you aren’t known, and you are on your own to face whatever difficult thing life is throwing at you.”
There is a similar story between Tori and me. Tori was in Walmart paying her electric bill right after David passed away, and she couldn’t get it done. She was in tears. Micki and I were both there, and we rushed in and saw her where she was. We didn’t try to usher her out of Walmart. We didn’t tell her to stop crying. Instead, we joined her in her sorrow. It would have probably not been very comfortable to some. Some would have taken her to the corner where no one could see her in her mess, but that isn’t what people need. PEOPLE NEED US TO SEE THEM WHERE THEY ARE and join them in the ugly, the sad, the bad, the uncomfortable.
Woven throughout Scripture sits a single theme: God is with us. So, HE is seeing us and is ready to meet us where we are.
Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
As it says in Psalm 34:4 and 15-19
4 God met me more than halfway,
he freed me from my anxious fears.
15 God keeps an eye on his friends,
his ears pick up every moan and groan.
16 God won’t put up with rebels;
he’ll cull them from the pack.
17 Is anyone crying for help? God is listening,
ready to rescue you.
18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
19 Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.
God meets us where we are, not only because he loves us but also because He is there. He knows our burdens, our pains, our sorrows, our joys. Christ is in the burning bushes and the pillars of fire. He is in the seas and the clouds of dust. He met the woman at the well; He met Saul headed to Damascus, He met the twelve disciples where they were, He met the blind, the lame, the woman who touched His robe, and He meets us.
This is a quote from Lynette Kittle “He sees you, hears your cries, and is ready to help you.”
Never think you are alone. You are never alone; God is with you, sees you, meets you where you are, and takes you where you need to be if you let Him.
CHALLENGES OF THE WEEK
- Keep your daily appointment
- Dive deep into the word
- Understand that He sees you every day, every minute
- Fill your cup with Christ
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