Pastor Tim had (cefctoday.org) another great sermon this morning. He reminded us using Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 of just how much we need brothers and sisters in Christ and yet how often we close our hearts to others. His point was if we are going to live this Christian life, we need each other. Otherwise when we fall, who will be there to help and lift us up? Well, I'm prone to fall and I wonder: don't you get tired of helping me get up? Seriously - the real me....the me God sees - can you really handle that me? Don't you want to judge me, reject me, preach at me and try and "fix me?" No, you help and lift me up.

Some days life just hurts and all I want is to hear your voice and have you put your arms around me, listen to me and just be there with me. Some days the situations and circumstances of life are overwhelming. It doesn't mean I've gone spiritually brain dead and don't know God's perspective on my situations and circumstances. It doesn't mean that I'm not clinging to the promises of God or unable to speak those promises back to myself. It just means I need to release the raw emotions of living life in this world. You don't try and "fix me." You just help me and lift me up.

Still, there are other days, when I actually do go spiritually brain dead. When truth seems to escape me and I'm spiritually confused and cannot seem to think straight. It's then I need my friend who knows me well - knows who I want to be and loves me enough to tell me in (a VERY gracious and loving way) that my behavior doesn't line up with who I say I am and who I want to be. The key here is "knows me well and loves me enough." Ah, that means I had to have opened my heart to someone, allowed them to get to know me - all aspects of me! It means I took a chance they may be appalled at what they saw and reject me rather than love me! Scary isn't it? Well, not when you consider the alternative. Living life alone. I say we take 100 chances and we keep opening our hearts, sharing our hearts until we find those precious ones who know us well and love us enough. Brothers and sisters who will help and lift us up so we can live and walk in a manner worthy of our Lord.

For all the times I've fallen....for all the times I've exposed my wretched heart - thank you for not trying to "fix me!" Thank you for helping me up and for graciously and lovingly reminding me of truth when I've gone spiritually brain dead. Thank you for lifting me up in such a way as to restore me so that I can walk in a manner worthy of my Lord. Thank you for investing in my life in such a way that I am known and well loved by you. You know exactly who you are and you are a gift from God to me.

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12