Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10

As ministry Assistants, we can find ourselves in the sights of the hurting, angry, or lost. Those who are so desperate they feel that fighting is the only way to be heard so they come out swinging. Sometimes those words are bitter and difficult to hear without taking them in and being tempted to take offense. Assisting can be a place of tension between the need and the fulfillment – the tough and the tender. Sadly, this position can see more than its fair share of mud, so we must be careful to guard our hearts. We must keep our eyes on Jesus as we ask Him to wash our hearts, minds, eyes, and souls from the mire He has invited us into for His Holy Spirit’s work. 

Yes, we have been invited into His work and that often happens in the messy places. So we need to remind ourselves that getting dirty is part of the privilege. We walk that holy space in muddy boots as we carry the bottomless bucket of His holy refreshing, splashing it lavishly onto those we encounter. Because, while we know the sting of harsh words, we also know the delight of surprising someone with kindness! A kind word, a gas card, or praying for someone in a difficult situation is a privilege we joyfully walk out in the name of Jesus. After all, we are simply giving away what we, ourselves, have been given in that bottomless bucket! What a delight to see relief in their eyes when they are able to drop the defenses and open their clenched fists to simply receive grace.

A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25

We are called to be people of generosity and kindness. It is a beautiful responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us. And as we splash His grace on others, we find that we too get drenched! When we focus on the joy of His refreshing, the muddy boots aren’t that big of a deal. And as we stand there – covered in mud, drenched in His refreshing, and big smiles on our faces – we clearly hear our loving Father’s laughter as He reminds us…

You are adored.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
Isaiah 41:10

There are times when, regardless of my efforts, I am so discouraged by my own thoughts. My own voice. My own behavior. Despite the growth, I still find myself sliding down a familiar, slippery slope. I believe we all have these days from time to time. We are, after all, human. But there are days when the enemy of our souls seems to go above and beyond with the berating of our minds over it. We start to wonder if we will ever have victory in a particularly challenging area of our lives and fear or despair creeps in.

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
Psalm 18:28

One of the most comforting promises of the Lord is His promise to always be with us. Whatever we are in, we are not in it alone. God’s presence brings His love, compassion, and strength to us and our situation. Providing all that is needed to turn our darkness – sin and failure – into light – holiness and victory. He literally transforms us and our situation by being with us in it. 

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered for ever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast,
trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:4, 6-7

And through the process, while still dark, His goodness and faithfulness floods in. Covering us with His own righteousness, He prevents us from being shaken. He promises us a legacy. He gives us confidence to shatter the fear and steadies our hearts as we trust Him. 

My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9

Take heart, precious friend! It is not your own strength that will bring victory. In fact, it is your weakness that ushers in our loving Father’s perfect power that overcomes. Your surrender to Him opens the door for His grace in full measure. His promises to you are yes and amen! And His whisper to you will always be…

You are adored.

One of the great blessings of working for New Life is the gift of sabbatical. Regardless of the position a staff member holds, we are given the gift of time with a sabbatical every 7 years of employment. Sabbatical is a tangible way of demonstrating value and appreciation for someone who has served with perseverance. Sabbatical mirrors the Leviticus model of working hard and resting well. Sabbatical invites us into the God-designed space of trusting Him to provide all our needs while we rest – recognizing that He is our provider, not ourselves. It is in that space that we learn lessons otherwise missed when we are distracted by our daily routines. I experienced my very first sabbatical nearly 2 years ago and I have tried to implement on a daily basis some lessons I learned from that extended time away.

I am merely a steward of God’s work. In order to fully receive the gift of sabbatical, it is necessary – not optional – to fully unplug from our normal routines and responsibilities. The requirement of “no contact” also demonstrates faith that the Lord will cover the nuanced details that fill an Assistant’s day. It reminds us that this is the Lord’s work, and it will go on whether we are there or not! Sabbatical not only refreshes us after diligent work, but it also reminds us whose work this really is.

Then he said to them,
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2:27-28

It takes longer to recover than it does to get tired. Read that again. Take a moment to remember a time when you last began a work week fully recharged and ready to go. Your weekend was one of refreshing and you arrived ready and excited to begin your week. Then somewhere mid-week (or, perhaps, mid-morning of your first day back) you found yourself zapped of all your energy. Your get-up-and-go got up and went! Chances are that you weren’t fully recharged. Because we are designed for rest, taking time for extended rest is necessary.

The Lord meets us when we make ourselves available. I love how our God is faithful to His children! He knows that we need to be reminded to press pause on everything else and simply seek Him with all our hearts. No distractions. Nothing else before Him. Simply us and Him. It is in that place where we will find Him, and we find Him with arms open wide to His beloved. It is also in this place where we more easily hold things with an open hand so the Lord can take things out – and place things in – our hands for blessing and stewardship.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

Be prepared to allow things to unfold differently than you expect. Even after 56 years of life, I need frequent reminders that God is in charge, not me! As a planner, I am prone to looking ahead, anticipating, and strategizing for the best possible outcome. The problem with that is it involves my understanding of the best possible outcome. There is nothing wrong with planning as long as there is room for the Lord’s hand in the Lord’s work. Every single time I’ve given space, He has orchestrated things so much better than I ever could on my own!

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Have fun! The level of non-planning that comes with sabbatical also allows space to simply have fun. Releasing responsibilities makes way for spontaneity and reminds us that it is good to enjoy the life that God has given to us!

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice
and to do good as long as they live;
and also that every man should eat and drink
and see and enjoy the good of all his labor – it is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:12

Lord, help us to pause and remember what you have taught us. Help us to resist the fray that so easily consumes us. Help us to cooperate and participate in the beautiful rhythms that you have designed us for, and ordained for us. Show us how to release what you desire to replace in our hands for stewardship, not ownership, so that we are more readily attuned to your whisper…

You are adored.

One of my favorite rituals is to finish my day with the Lectio 365 devotional. It has become a place of calm, centering, and peace for me before going to sleep. The other night, this verse rang out:

The Lord your God wins victory after victory
and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings because of you,
and he will refresh your life with his love.
Zephaniah 3:17

These past few months have highlighted the weight that I have accumulated in my heart. I have purposely done deep work with the Lord for a variety of circumstances over the years and I am so very grateful for His healing work in my life. Yet, there are some things that just linger. Unfinished. Like an onion, there are layers that need addressed and can only be approached after some time has passed. It isn’t the result of avoidance but more of a timing issue. And recently I have been aware of the layers that are waiting and ready to be peeled back.

After walking with the Lord all these years, I am convinced that He wins victory after victory and is always with me. I have seen too much – logged too many miles with the Lord, peeled too many onions with Him – to not believe that truth! It is the next sentence that caused me to catch my breath: “He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.”

The idea that the God of the universe celebrates and sings because of me was astonishing. Laying in the dark that night, my human mind had a hard time grasping that truth. My inner voice started in with all the disclaimers. But the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me get derailed. He kept pressing: He celebrates and sings because of you. He celebrates and sings because of you. He CELEBRATES and SINGS because of YOU! These last few days have been spent peeling that onion. One layer at a time. Processing the reality of being so deeply cherished by the Lord that it moves Him to celebrate and sing because of me.

Then, as if to put an exclamation point on the end of that statement, He allowed me to celebrate my birthday yesterday. In all my years, I don’t believe I have ever been as celebrated as I have been this year. Yes, I have been spoiled with gifts and cards, and I have loved each and every one! But it is the words – written and spoken, in person and recorded – that have hit my heart so directly. Words of encouragement. Words of love. Words of appreciation. Words of celebration. Over. Me. I am undone.

Has this reality come home to your heart yet? Have you pondered the gravity of this statement? Have you paused to imagine what it might look and sound like to have Almighty God celebrate and sing because of you? Have you been awestruck at the thought?

I’ll be camping here for a while. Trying to comprehend the enormity of this fact. Peeling back the layers of this love onion. Trying to grasp the next level of truth to the statement that….

You are adored.

Seasons.

As I write this, we are experiencing winter in all its glory. Two degrees with a wind chill of -18* and dropping like a rock as we move toward sundown. Baby, it’s COLD outside! As I’ve spoken with people today, I have been struck by the common thread of looking toward the weekend when it is forecasted to rise above freezing. Ah, hope for a warmer day. Hold on, friends, summer is coming!

I am certain, though, that there will be a day in mid-July when we will have similar conversations about changing seasons. But this time with the encouragement that cooler days are on their way and we just need to hold out till winter….

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens…
Ecclesiastes 3:1

As a young mom, I determined to do my best at enjoying whatever stage (season) my kids were in at that moment. I heard too many mommas wishing away the precious, albeit difficult, moments they held in their hands as they pined for days ahead when diapers wouldn’t need changing and they could sleep for a full 8 hours at night. I fully understand the weariness of baby days and there is nothing wrong with looking forward to the next stage, as long as we don’t despise the moments we have right now. There are gems in each and every season. Right now is just as much of a gift as tomorrow.

I am doing my best to keep this awareness as I walk through a season of grief. Let’s be honest, most of us don’t want grief to be a season. We want it to be a moment, and a brief one at that! The season of grief resembles the season of new parenthood in a few ways. The work of grief can be messy and exhausting. But it can also be sprinkled with laughter as we remember sweeter times with friends and loved ones.

Grief can also come with comfort when we realize we aren’t alone. Just this week, I have been aware of significant loss around me – a friend’s father, a friend’s daughter, and a friend. Three different families, each with their own stories, and each walking through tremendous pain. My own grief, the most recent addition nearly 7 months in, has been stirred by the knowledge that other loved ones are walking a similar path that I am. I am both saddened by the losses and encouraged to know we aren’t alone. I find myself wanting to be exceedingly gentle and understanding of the odd cycle that includes exhaustion, bursts of creativity, teariness, brain fog, anger, and sudden outbursts of laughter. Exceedingly gentle with these families and myself. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

As much as I want to, I am doing my best not to rush this season. I know that He is tenderizing my heart toward people around me because so many are walking through difficulty and have no one to confide in. I know that He is maturing me to look at His hope in the midst of the unimaginable. I know that He is deepening my understanding of who a good Father is by walking with me through it rather than rescuing me from it. I am doing my best not to wish this season away because I have lived long enough to know that God has really good gifts hidden among the tissues.

And I know that different seasons are ahead. Seasons of untethered joy. Seasons of victorious growth. Seasons of rest and refreshing. Each season filled with His faithfulness, love, and reassurance that…

You are adored.

Growing up, there were three of us. But for 10 years, it was just Mike and me.

Mike knew no fear. He WAS a superhero – each day he donned his shorts, cowboy boots, t-shirt, and bath towel safety-pinned around his neck. With one arm outstretched in front of him, he would zoom around the house with lightning speed, cape flying in the breeze behind him. And pity the poor young men who would show any interest in me! Despite being four years younger, he always took the role of protector saying, “Don’t worry, Sissy, I’ll protect you!” and take off after the boy with his superhero karate kicks. He was like a mix of the Flash, Spiderman, Superman, and Clint Eastwood. Fearless.

fear·​less | \ ˈfir-ləs  \
Definition of fearless
: free from fear : BRAVE

Mike had a confidence I didn’t know. As the oldest child, I was calculated, thoughtful, and cautious. I too had a strong protector instinct for my little brother, but it looked differently than his spirit. Mike would jump off second-story landings to protect. I would throw myself on him to keep him from jumping to protect! Mike faced danger. I avoided it.

I’ve been asking the Lord to help me grow in fearlessness this year. Personally, I think the enemy’s greatest weapon of destruction is fear. It can paralyze the unsuspecting, skew our thought processes, and spark doubt about God’s promises. Fear can impact so much that the Lord reminds us 365 times in Scripture to “fear not.” Fear is such a dirty rotten thing and I don’t want its influence in my life any longer. As a daughter of the Most High, I want to be free from fear. I want to be brave in the Lord. Funny thing about growing in fearlessness, though. It requires me to face fear. Hmph. 

Do not dear for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name;
you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1

So the Lord has been giving me some pretty amazing (let’s be honest, scary) opportunities to grow in fearlessness. With each opportunity, I try to remind myself of God’s command to be strong and courageous and the promise that accompanies that command in Deuteronomy. Then He reminds me of my name – who He calls me – Kelly Diane, warrior maiden. He made me to be fearless. He made me to be strong. He made me to be brave. He made me to be His hands extended as protector and defender. He made me to be free of fear and every other lie that sets itself up against the word of God over me.

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the Lord your God goes with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

And He has made you to be fearless too. What or who is the “them” in your life that is causing fear or terror in your heart? A person, situation, thought? The nightly news or medical report? The future, the unknown, or the past? Fear of the dark, the spotlight, failure, success? The enemy will try to saddle us with fear in any and every arena possible. And once he gets his scrawny little foot in the door, he tries to barge through to take possession of all that he can. Friends, slam the door on that scrawny foot and remind him who your God is! To remind my enemy and myself, these are the words I’ve been singing about my God lately:

You are great, greater than the struggle.
You are here with us in the battle.
You are God, there will be no other.
Alleluia, alleluia!
~Awaken the Anthem

This is the God we serve. This is the God who loves us. This is the God who died for us. This is the God who was raised to life for us. This is the God who walks with us. This is the God who meets us where we are. This is the God who isn’t afraid of our mess. This is the God who runs to us. This is the God who sanctifies us. This is the God who welcomes us to Himself. This is the God who makes us fearless. This is the God who wants you to know…

You are adored.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion for you.
Isaiah 54:10

I’ve never experienced an earthquake but have listened to stories from those who have. They explained it as feeling as if their equilibrium was shifted, similar to the feeling right before fainting, and the inability to find their footing. Their association to fainting resonated with me. I think I spent 10% of my teenage years on the floor after passing out. I would faint for inexplicable reasons and in strange places – the city bus, the bathroom, in the middle of a haircut. That familiar feeling of blood rushing to my buzzing head while trying to keep my feet under me. I knew what was coming and couldn’t do a thing to keep it from happening. I was completely out of control.

I imagine that is how I would feel in an earthquake. If the beautiful mountains that I live near were shaken or the foothills were removed, I would feel vulnerable, out of control, as if a baseline for what I knew to be true was no longer reliable. Shaken, but not just in the physical sense.

When life-changing events, or even a series of troubling events, happen we can lose our equilibrium. Things we’ve always known to be constant suddenly aren’t. We are shaken. We are scared. So how does our loving Father respond? With compassion. He steadies us with His unshakable truth – He loves us. He brings us back to center, reminding us of His promise of peace. He reminds us of the only plumbline we can rely on – Him.

When we find ourselves on the floor, He is there with us. When we are shaken by life, He wraps His steady arms of love around us. When people are hurtful or dismissive, He comes alongside us and reminds us of our value. He has set a place specifically for us at His table. He wants to be with us. He is expecting us. He has prepared for us. Despite what we see around us, He is continuously whispering ….

You are adored.

Have you ever been in a season of waiting? I’ve been in a season of waiting recently and, I confess, I haven’t been very gracious about it. I’m learning to go deeper with my “real and transparent” responses to life so, while I would love to say that I’ve been gifted with Mother Theresa qualities of patience, it just isn’t so! However, I’ve discovered that in the honest recognition of a very real situation, the Lord is faithful to walk with me. He doesn’t shame me into false joy.

When I get impatient with the delays that are out of my control – or even beyond my influence – He invites me into peace as I wait. When I get frustrated by the ever-growing list of things that are waiting to get done, He invites me to shift my gaze to what has been accomplished. And once the delays are finally removed and the overwhelm of that long to-do list sets in, He reminds me that His timing is perfect for each task. He is teaching me to praise Him at the end of each day for what is done and for what is left undone. He is teaching me that all of it is submitted to His timeline which, by the way, is perfect.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Yes, He reminds me that His timing, His involvement, His yeses and nos are all for my good simply because I have been called according to His purpose. I made the decision to follow Christ several years ago and I have spent each day ever since learning how to do that! Even in my lack of understanding about what that looks like, it doesn’t stop the promises He has spoken. His promise to work all things for my good is not contingent on how patient I am. Instead, He calls me closer and fulfills His promises to me as I grow in my faith. 

So, I keep walking. I continue to be honest with Him about, well, everything! I continue to learn and grow and rest in His promises. I continue to trust His timing – doing my best not to run ahead of Him or plop my bum on the ground and pout when things go differently than I thought they should. Although either option may be tempting in the moment! Instead, each moment I try to trust Him more knowing that He is faithful and trustworthy. And in response, He continues to love me into true joy. He is our loving Father who knows the beginning and end of time…and every second in between. He knows His plans to unfold circumstances for our good. And each move of His hand is another whisper reminding us that…

You are adored.

As Assistants, we have learned to maximize systems in order to maximize our productivity. And while that can be a good thing, it becomes detrimental when it lures us into believing that frenzy is the minimum, expected pace. When we find ourselves rushing, pushing, running through our days that we completely miss the treasured souls in front of us, or even the clamor of our own souls for needed attention, that’s when we’ve entered dangerous territory.

Personally, I’ve experienced times in my life that my body has simply put me in time out. I’ve gotten sick or so exhausted that I have slept for nearly 72 hours straight. Occasional small sips of water, brief trips to the rest room, and then fallen back into bed just as weary as when I first landed there. The fact that this happened is not nearly as mind boggling as the fact that it happened more than once! What was I thinking?

Apparently, I was thinking that I am Wonder Woman. I believed the lie that I could keep adding to my plate without giving up something already on it. I believed that I could keep adding balls into the juggling rotation without something being dropped. God did not design me to be a fictional superhero. He designed me to be His daughter, Kelly.

I was in my 50’s when I first had the opportunity to experience a sabbatical. The idea of having four weeks away from my ministry work responsibilities was a new thing for me. First the guilt of setting down my responsibilities was a bit of a hurdle for this high-responsibility woman. Once I got past that, the temptation to fill the days with all kinds of activity was very real! But I was encouraged (lovingly warned) by others who had gone before me to build in open space alongside the planned space. Protect the “no plan” days because that is where we can more easily hear the voice of the Lord. And that is what I really wanted out of the experience. It took more than 50 years for me to develop the habit of frenzy, so it was a precious gift to have quiet, peace, and stillness celebrated! I came away from my sabbatical so changed that I committed to building the essence of it into my daily life. Some days I get it better than others and even that is alright because I am a work in progress.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for human masters…
Colossians 3:23

When we give ourselves the grace to release the unrealistic expectations we have placed on ourselves, or have been placed on us by others, we open the door for God’s grace to flood in. And by His grace all can be accomplished in the way He intended – without fear or guilt or shame or exhaustion, but with power and love and joy and growth. 

Recently the poem, For One Who Is Exhausted, a Blessing by John O’Donohue was introduced to me. Let me encourage you to pause and read it for – and to – yourself. His voice is kind and understanding. I hope you find it encouraging as you remind yourself that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by a loving God. Not a task-master god. Let me encourage you to pause and evaluate your pace. Be exceedingly gentle with yourself.  Is your family taking a back seat on a far-too-regular basis? Are you giving yourself space for rest? Do you give yourself the same grace you offer to others? We cannot complete the work that the Lord has entrusted to us when we are exhausted from trying to keep a pace that does not align with God’s best for us. He never intended for us to do this without Him, and He does not keep a frenzied pace. He is peace. He is joy. He is love. He is faithful. He is light. He is patient. He is good. He is perfect. He is righteousness. He is compassion. And He wants you to know…

You are adored.

Have you ever taken the time to watch a water droplet sit on a leaf? The tension between the water and the air perfectly balanced to keep the water encapsulated in the form of a droplet, yet fluid enough to glide along the surface of the leaf. It is an amazing example of embracing tension.

The older I get, the more I learn about myself. And while I’m beginning to embrace the part of my personality that is bolder and more outspoken, I’ve always been called a peacemaker. I do prefer peace over conflict, but life is full of both and I’m learning that many times it is the conflict that opens the door for peace. So I better learn to do both well, and that means I need to embrace the tension that exists between what appears to be opposites.

Opposites. I learned about them on Sesame Street. Hot and cold. Soft and hard. Go and stop. Then life taught me a few. Kind and mean. Competent and unskilled. Strong and weak. Joy and grief. Somewhere along the way, I came to believe that opposites cannot coexist. While I believe that I am a work in progress that the Lord is very patiently developing, the truth of the matter is that works in progress are filled with opposites! As we grow from one characteristic to another, we are in a lengthy state of bearing opposites. There isn’t a switch that is flipped to instantly remove one trait and replace it with another simultaneously. Instead, I need to fully embrace the opposites and what they are teaching me. Although I don’t want the hard, bad, and ugly, I have something to learn from them.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed
– not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence –
continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13

We are in progress – a water droplet gliding along the surface of a leaf. The tension between the air pressure on the outside and the water pressure on the inside perfectly balanced to clearly identify the two as separate things. Until something shifts and the droplet breaks, allowing the water to spread along the leaf and be absorbed and evaporated into another state.

God has a good purpose for you. And He is graciously allowing the process to do its work in you to fulfill that good purpose. So embrace the opposites – acknowledge your current limits as you grow in strength and allow the laughter to come when times are hard. He is with you in it all. He is cheering you on. He loves you and wants to remind you in every moment that…

You are adored.