Sunday, July 6, 2008

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

If you ever need a little boost, maybe you've forgotten just how loved you really are, I recommend losing your job. I know that would be a little extreme just for some kind words from friends and family, but trust me by the end of a week you will feel loved! The reason I know this is Kyle was laid off from his job on Monday, we knew it was coming due to the financial situation the company is in, but to suddenly have no income that's a bit shocking.

After he came home at three in the afternoon and let me know that was his last day, I waited for me to go into hysterics or at least a major case of the butterflies. But it didn't happen I was calm and Kyle was calm and maybe dare I say glad. This past week of unemployment has been filled with joy. Anyone reading this who knows Kyle and I, is now thoroughly convinced that there is a God, because the way we are acting must be the Holy Spirit living in us, our inherent nature would be to freak out and figuring out how WE would fix the problem. Man, do I feel loved by God, that He would give me His peace and joy about this situation, it must be one of the biggest blessings I've ever received, to be saved from my own franticness.

Then Kyle began his networking, we live in a smaller town, so to find a job networking is key. God has just blown our minds at the number of people willing to help Kyle find a job, some of them strangers (friends of friends). I have absolutely no doubt that God will provide Kyle with a job as I watch His people work selflessly to help their brother in Christ.

So then I sent out an email to some friends and family to request their prayers, because I believe in the power of prayer! How they blessed me. Besides praying for us they sent me notes of encouragement that made me cry at how loved we are, how supported we are, and how good it is to hear, "everything's going to be okay". I loved how everyone had something slightly different to say, how my aunt responded the way she does best by telling me a story about when she was fired. How my dad responded so much like himself, short and to the point, only one line long, yet it commiunicated an abundance of love and just the right amount of support, the perfect balance of I'll catch you if you fall but I'll stand back and let you be an adult. So many friends with their well wishes and words so kind I knew that everything was going to be okay. Time and again I read or heard, "this just might be the best thing that's ever happened to you" and that's how we feel too. To be saved from a job that was not ideal, to be reminded what's really important in life, to be told again and again you are loved, to learn to depend even more on God, already this is one of the best things that's ever happened to us.

So all week one of the verses that kept popping into my mind was, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35. And suddenly it made sense to me, what these people are doing in my life speaks volumes about the God they serve. It perplexes those who don't know our God and draws them to Him. My biggest prayer during this week has been, God be glorified in this situation, and you, my friends and family, are doing that. I hope I remember this lesson always, to reveal the God I serve to the world in desperate need of Him, I need to love people with His amazing love. I need to have more love, not more religion, more love.

1 comment:

KyleC said...

It is easy to be discouraged when looking for a job. A friend encouraged me last week by talking about Noah. How long did he require to build the ark? 100 years or so. He labored all that time without throwing in the towel, despite there being no signs of a flood, no animals mulling around, and immense social pressure to change course. So, take courage from Noah, good results can take time to generate. Keep doing the right things, as long as it takes.