Just Love Them Like Jesus

As my regular readers know, blogging is my therapy.  When things get tough or confusing or overwhelming, generally, instead of losing my temper, bursting into tears or sinking into depression, I try to write it out here and then listen to the comments all of you make to help direct me back to the path of being centered once more.



Church can be hard work, and in a way, I find that sad, because it really shouldn't be. 



My church has been through its ups and downs the last three years, but we have hung in there.  When we suddenly found ourselves smaller and without a full time pastoral leader, I watched people take leads they had never taken before.  I watched a congregation bond together and pick up the pieces and move on with Christ.  As it should be.  I found out that my little church  was made up of some very wise people, who knew how to defuse situations and sometimes even head them off before they could begin.  I came to know people I had never really known before, simply because we were too big before to know everyone so intimately.  I saw people who had never taken charge of anything before, take charge and people who rarely helped, pitch in to get things done.  It has truly been amazing.



But all churches have growing pains and some of ours have evolved by people just getting tired.  Summer is a busy time here with three very large events:  The mission trip, VBS and the yard sale, and the latter two affect more people.  Though the mission trip is every bit as exhausting, it only exhausts a handful of us as opposed to VBS and the yard sale, which affect more individuals.  So, at the beginning of all this work, we get a wonderful new pastor, who has his own ideas about things he would like to try and to his credit, he has been in the center of each of these major activities that took place over the summer.



But now that Fall is upon us, there are new things to start and other events to do and sometimes, people don't deliver information well and they tell instead of ask, which annoys other people and before long, you have a problem.  A problem that if all involved would just take a step back and a deep breath, then calmer heads would probably prevail.  But instead, it has to get worse before it gets better and bending is just something some folks are not willing to do because they are angry.



But aren't we, as the church, the ones the rest of the world should be looking to? If congregations cannot get along, then what hope is there for the rest of the world? Aren't we commissioned by Christ to be a family; His family?  Nothing is engraved in stone (other than those Ten Commandments, one of which is "Love your neighbor, btw) and sometimes schedules have to be reworked and we all have to give a little.  But when invisible lines in the sand are drawn, what are we accomplishing really?  We're so busy with our own agendas and lines that we lose sight of what we are here for in the first place.



I can't begin to tell you how often I bite my tongue.  How many times I stop myself from saying what I'm thinking, in the name of peace.  I find it a worthwhile thing to do because I despise contention, yet I've been surrounded by it since last week and it takes an affect on my system.  I'm tired, my IBS is flaring up for the first time in YEARS, and it is the cost of being a secretary who hears everything and worries about all of it too.  But it's a sacrifice I make because no one needs to hear my thoughts on the situation; my opinions.  I'm not even going to state them here.  I will say that I could be equally as stubborn as some, but chose not to be, because then it just creates more problems. 



It's time to step back and remember what we are doing here.  We need to remember what we are commissioned to do.  If we bicker amongst ourselves, how on earth can we go out into the world and live the Gospel to a world that is all too eager to forget about God?  What does it say about us when we are not living examples of the love and mercy Jesus showed all of us?  Grace.  It's one of my favorite words.



So, when my heart is troubled by the actions, words or deeds of others or when I am fretting about when any turmoil will end, I take my deep breath, stand back and say a prayer.  Then He gently reminds me of who is really in charge and that all things will work together for good.



He is my hope.