If you have been through a Great Banquet, Cruisillo, Walk to Emmaus, Tres Dias or anything like a 3 day retreat, then you may understand the point of a reunion group. In the last few months, i have discovered exactly why God calls us to commuinty with other believers.
The last few months have been a bit of a challenge and i've found myself feeling further away from God. Things that should be priorities have been far from the forefront of my mind. Although, i scarcely believe i am the only one who has experienced this, it does leave one feeling alone, and exposed.
I am sickened by the ease with which Satan is able to distract, re-route, and re-prioritize our lives. And in my case, it was with a tool of pure enjoyment, a hot tub. You see, Andrew and i purchased a hot tub in June and thought that we would have it all set up and ready to go in July. Such is not the case. We have had to begin at square one and dig out, form up, pour concrete, build a trellis and set I beams. Once all that was completed, the hot tub arrived at our house. Once here, we discovered a crack in the tub, it was finally patched, once that was done, we filled it up and discovered a large crack in the tubing. Needless to say, we are midway into november and the hot tub is still not in working order. You see, it started with the our wonderful handy man who has been helping us with this hot tub. He comes over on weekends and works on it. It started with one Sunday morning because he was available adn that turned into many Saturdays and Sundays of working on the tub. The problem: we weren't going to church since we had someone over working on a project. We felt awkward leaving our friend to work on our "toy" while we went elsewhere. Once the pattern began, it was easier not to go than to get up early and go to church.
Once we quit going to church, things started to change. Andrew and I began fighting a lot more and i began to feel further from God each week. Finally, i was feeling hopeless, feeling loveless and feeling like i was at a deadend street with nowhere to go. It was that week that my reunion group was scheduled to meet. See, all of us were going through the same type of thing. Some worldly object, or sitaution had pulled each of us from our diligence of attending church or small groups. Randomly, or divinely, we agreed to meet last Tuesday. Upon meeting, we all realized we were desperate for God, we needed support and we needed healing. We found ourselves sharing our deepest hurts and then ultimately ended up at the foot of the cross in the chapel. What happened then was a time of prayer and laying of hands on one another. The next week for me was filled with moments of joy, breakthroughs and a renewed sense of sisterhood and hunger for Christ.
I have since committed to praying for my girls each day, for my residents who i work with and for those around me. It is sometimes so easy to stray from God but the blessing is that his grace and mercy is always available to us.
I can't thank my sisters enough for their support, prayers and love. One of them emailed me this week with the following, i hope that it encourages you as it did me.
"But the Lord is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge." Psalm 94:22
FROM THE FATHER'S HEART:
"My child, do i need to open your eyes as i did to my servant long ago? In the heat of battling your habits and temptations, or when circumstances try your patience and faith, remember i am you defense. My angels do hand-to-hand combat at My command. You may not see them, but they surround you day in and day out. Open your eyes of faith. The battle is mine."
A GRATEFUL RESPONSE:
"Like a veteran returning from foreign wars, i see the scars of battle, those incurred when i fought apart from your strength. But when i depend on You alone to man the front line for me, I'm a victor every time. Lord, thank you for being my defense. I'm glad You're on my side."
A SIMPLE TRUTH:
Like a shining star, he lights our path, even in the dark.
I hope you have a blessed day and know that God is with you even when you feel alone and far, far from him.
