Love unfolds her arms to us, soft & maternal, when, in loneliness or awakening, we gather.
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Summer brings out a certain kind of sadness sometimes and I'm wondering if you feel this juxtaposition too. It’s hard to pinpoint, it’s so abstract it's almost insignificant...but it tugs at the corners of even our best days. We don’t want the happy to end. We don’t want the sunshine & firefly evenings spent outside in twilight to ever stop. We are surrounded by people but often overcome with the fear of missing out, even when we're present. We want to be fully known, fully experienced, and fully enjoyed. It's one of the seven longings of the human heart. The longing to be enjoyed, the longing for fascination, for beauty, for greatness, for intimacy without shame, for wholeheartedness, and to make a deep and lasting impact. We go through our sunshine days in a tangle of desires, never really feeling like we have adequate language for what we so poignantly desire.
Our feeds make us feel like we’re missing out and our experiences never quite measure up to our expectations. There’s a panic to make the most of every moment because we know it ends all too soon. But life is not about measuring up. Or cramming to fit it all in to our misshapen lives. It’s about loving well. ⠀⠀
When we gather together, not to fill our schedules but to talk story, look in eyes, smile authentic; we knit together the very community where those desires are nurtured into fruition. Meal by meal & heart to heart, we entwine our lives, getting real with each other and letting love in to have it's way with us - because that's what Jesus did. Come friends, let's talk about the hard stuff and let vulnerability shape our rules for engagement. Let's see what Love will do. Even if it’s a phone call or a cup of coffee shared on FaceTime, togetherness is our way through.
This is not a perfect picture and our house is not a picture perfect house. But it’s our home. And in these walls we live and hope and talk and cry and fight and work and pray and commune and worship and gather and love greatly. My hope for each of us is for fresh eyes to see the beauty in togetherness. That we, whether in loneliness or rapture, would make the effort to knit our hearts together in love. ⠀⠀
I'm looking forward to the slow days at home putzing around our garden, making memories with our kids. But I also can't wait to fall in love with the beauty unfolding in you. Community is where our gifts grow best and I do so love to see people shining in their unique purposes. 🌿 I hope one of these days I'll get to hold your hand, hear your story and celebrate the person of YOU.
Happy summer!
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