Our Family Ramblings!

I will start with a question a dear friend asked me last week while we were hanging out at the local splash pad. I have been thinking a lot about it lately. She said, "what does loving someone that is broken REALLY look like?" Does it mean just sending them a text saying, " I love you... thinking about you?" Does it mean being there when they need you, but at arms length or when it is convienent? Does it mean getting down and dirty with the broken, helping them sift through the pieces of their brokeness and helping them glue the pieces into a beautiful mosaic? How does loving someone through their brokeness translate to daily living?

I think an excellent way to start is to realize that we are ALL broken in some way, shape or form. Some more broken then others. Some experienced devistating circumstances to lead to brokeness, some just broken from being a sinful being. Nevertheless , all broken-- all in need of love, connection, and friendship.

Showing the broken grace is needed. Grace means :mercy; clemency; a pardon. Why grace? Because it is by Grace that we have been saved through Christ Jesus. Remember your own forgiveness and grace that was afforded you by our Lord. (Eph. 2:8) Because that emulates our Lord. (Gen 5:1 -- we are made in HIS likeness) Follow that up with compassion. Jesus led by compassion. So much so that he broke his own father's laws to show compassion. (Luke 13:10) The good samaritan not only showed compassion in thought, but put into physical tangible actions! (Luke 10:30) It really has amazed me and is something that I have been learning in a BIG way over the past months.... It is a shame on us, but sometimes we don't show or understand the degree of grace we should show to others until we are in the place of needing that grace ourselves.

I do know that one thing the broken do NOT need is judgement. Nine chances out of ten the great judge (the Lord) and refiners fire has already been at work in the brokeness. That is more than likely where their brokeness has come from. They don't need your "fire". The definition of judgement is the forming of an opinion, estimate, notion, or conclusion, as from circumstances presented to the mind. I love the last 4 words! These circumstances are almost always not based on fact or by being a "scholar of another" and ripping off the packaging to open the box of their lives. It is all about where the mind takes it. No one has ever been healed or restored by judgement. Compassion and love, yes! If we are looking to change lives, judgement needs to go out the window and let grace and love abound!

We as Christians are usually the worst offenders of passing down judgement. I would almost be more accepting of judgement from a non-believer. But we as Christ followers should know better. To whom much is given, much is required. (Luke 12:48) There are times when rebuke and correction are necessary and founded by truth in situations, but other times, if we are honest... the situations are just uncomforable to us , out of our box, some new way that the Lord is choosing to work his big picture that we aren't familiar with. We may not like the situation or circumstances in someones life and how uncomfortable it feels to us, but we are called to LOVE, show COMPASSION, and offer GRACE-- not just in word, but in deed!

These words come from a truely broken vessel. I seek HIS face daily, trust his promises, walk with him through the fire and pray for beauty from these ashes. I KNOW HE is creating a beautiful mosaic, and I am thankful for those ppl who are helping me slap in the grout to make it complete!!!

XO