the stupid lies I believe when I walk my dogs

I tend to do this thing. This stupid, false and unhelpful reaction to an unfilled expectation or painful disappointment. All out of fear, really. But this thing that I do is this. I grab my unruly dogs and put them on leashes and I go for a walk, with the intention of praying, but instead, I walk right into the snares of the devil, and wind up looking at each house I walk by, convinced that normal, happy, families reside in each, and that there is something very, very wrong with me, my parenting, my decisions, my life, my family, everything. And you see, this is why we need God. Because if I did not have a personal relationship with Him, if I did not know at my core, beneath the lies and and the fear and the knee jerk emotional reactions, that He is good, that He is faithful, that He keeps His promises, that He is my anchor of hope, that He is in control, that He is sovereign, that He is the way, the truth and the life.....I would live and lead a life of tragic depression and despair.

And, sweet friends....so many of us are living this way.

So many of us do lead this life.

So many of us have yet to hear and believe the good news, that this life is not all that there is, that heaven is our goal, that we are loved and we are purposeful, and we lead very significant, good, meaningful lives, not because of what we do, or how healthy we are, but simply because, we belong to God.

We are not meant to live waiting for the other shoe to drop.

We are not meant to live in disappointment.

We are not meant to live numb.

We are not meant to live based on circumstance.

We are not meant to live alone.

We are not meant to live like this earth is our home.

And we are not meant to figure it all out completely on our own.

But how many of us are?

When I initially set out to work for the Lord, I have to be honest...part of me was trying to earn His love back. Part of me believed that to erase all the wrong, I had to put out some major right.

And in this short journey, really, so far, something has changed in me. Because when you put yourself out there on the front line, and minister to others, and see their pain before you, you realize...good grief, we are all so sick. We are all so very much in need of a healer. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. And earn God's love? Well, that's just stupid. He died while we were still sinners. How much more proof do we need?

There is not one house I walk my dogs by that does not have an illness inside.

There is not one house I walk my dogs by that does not wish for a healing of some kind.

But how many houses do I walk by believe that there is a healer in their midst?

How many houses do I walk by have encountered Christ in a real, intimate and personal way?

And this is just something I have been struck by as I read and meditate on the Gospel of Luke 10:1-12. Because the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. And in our sickness, is it not an abundance of healing we crave? In our weariness, is not an abundance of strength we desire? And in our disappointment, is it not an abundance of hope we search for?

We have a God of abundance who is patiently waiting for us to invite Him into our messed up lives, you know. He is the one guest you do not have to clean up for. He shows up best in the mess. That's His thing. And I am thinking this morning....how many people are out there, sitting in a mess, but do not know that God is at their door waiting...how many people need someone, just one person, to help guide them to that door...the door with Jesus standing, arms wide open, on the other side?

So bring on the laborers. Better yet? Be the laborer. Suit on up, and get on out there, and boldly proclaim the good news, if you know it. Boldly share the joy of the Gospel, if you have encountered it. And if you do not know it, if you have yet to encounter it, pray that God puts that person, who can speak truth and life into your heart, right smack in front of you. Pray that God sends you a Saint Luke or a Saint Paul, just one friend of Jesus, to stop at your house, to feed your heart and your soul, to hold your illness in their hands and say "I'm sick too", to cure your disease.

And I pray that when the laborer does show up, you do not hide, but you open up....and welcome him in.