Good morning…
“It’s so interesting, Sue,” looking back over June one of you wrote, “when you felt the leading of the Spirit to continue to write during the summer months, I grieved for you. (See our post My Change Of Heart). I grieved the loss of freedom of time and the setting aside of responsibility for you. I know you well enough that you were willing to sacrifice that ‘summer pause’ in order to faithfully follow.”
She continued, “What I’m seeing though is this collaboration with the community as posts are woven together through the experiences and interactions of this online community. Though you are crafting the messages, being attuned to God’s voice, the community is often sharing their words in our daily posts. What if you had laid your pen aside for the summer and these messages were missed? Yes God would continue to speak in other ways and His presence would still be felt, but we would have missed the blessing of seeing Him work through the connectedness of this community.”
She concluded: “As you plant seeds of truth, we take those seeds and scatter them further, and the planting and harvesting expands. It makes me think of Jesus words in John 16:7 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” Jesus’ Spirit working in the lives of His followers expands His presence to the ends of the earth. Thanks be to God, and to you, for faithfully following.”
Then without any awareness of this first person’s thoughts, a second subscriber wrote the same day: “I am smiling as I see why God has you writing this summer. People are hurting and transitioning and need His perspective. They need the nurture and support of community and of our Lord. And, the summer months tend to spread everyone wide, church feels a bit like it’s on vacation, but God is ever present. Your discernment that you needed to stay close and to write anew each morning is like God reaching out to each of us wherever we are and reminding us that it is not about a place (church) but about our relationship with Him and in community (even virtual!) with others that we can find peace. This June, I have sensed a longing for time within myself to rest, to process where I’ve been, to lean in and connect deeply to God so that I may let go and now step by step discern His path forward for me.”
Prayerfully processing our shared journey this June, weirdly the word “yoke” pops into mind. Putting “yoke” into the search bar of Biblegateway.com, I discover our restorative dynamic. Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT).
Wherever we find ourselves this 4th of July week, may we rest beneath the peaceful yoke fit for our souls, trusting the Lord to do life’s heavy lifting.
…Sue…
