This Christmas will be mine and my husbands third married Christmas together. Looking back, our Christmases couldn’t be more different. We had our first married Christmas. A year later, we had our first Christmas with a baby all the while closing on and renovating our first house. This year we are settled in our home, most of the big renovations are finished and we have a busy one-year-old roaming around.
On March 4, 2015, this blog was officially birthed. I’m not sure I smiled out of fear of being vulnerable but I’m quite sure God smiled. And He has continued to smile over us here at EPFH throughout the last 99 posts. This is post 100. Wow! Immeasurable blessings!
Today is Davy Crockett’s birthday. He is 229 but he doesn’t look a day over 50. He has aged well, eh? All that good, healthy, wild livin’ I suppose.
As a child, I used to watch the Disney show about Davy Crockett’s adventures, “Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the wild frontier!”. If you’re old like me you probably have that tune stuck in your head now. I can’t even imagine a show like this being on Disney these days. That’s unfortunate.
“Any conflict you run from is only going to be waiting for you in a future season.” Steven Furtick, Elevation Church
I just attended a writer’s conference and was away from home for a week. I enjoyed being away, but I thought a lot about coming home. Not in the way you might think, though. Typically, I am super pumped about coming home. Sleeping in my bed, being with my people and doing my thing in my home. But this time, I thought about coming home more along the lines of sort of not wanting to come home. That sounds bad and I guess it kind of is, but hear me out.
The conference was so good. I was with my people. Not my home people but my other people. People like me with a similar calling and similar passions. Other writers. As well as long-time friends and new friends. It felt like home to me. I didn’t want to leave. It was so good to be away from home. To get away from my normal routine. From my normal life. Let it be noted that I use the term “normal” loosely. After living a life of crazy overseas adventures, these last two years of being home in the US, I’ve struggled with feelings of being stuck. I thought a lot about how good it was just to get on an airplane and how good it was to get out of my life for a bit. Getting away enables us to gain a fresh perspective and allows us to come home seeing things differently. I wrote more about that in a previous post, When Your Whole Face Smiles. It’s just good to get away. And normally it’s good to go home.
Sometimes we can dread coming home – “home” can either be figurative or literal. Home might not be safe. Home might not be comfortable. Home might not be pretty. Sometimes my home doesn’t feel safe or comfortable. That’s not intended to be a confession of any kind (so don’t worry Mom) it’s just the way of life. I thought about what I might be coming home to that would be challenging. I thought about what I might be coming home to that wasn’t as fun as being away. I really liked where I was. North Carolina and Georgia are beautiful states! I remember the first time I went to North Carolina I thought that it must be what heaven was like. Then I went to New Zealand… But when the conference is over and the airline emails you that it’s time to check, you have to go home.
Maybe we leave our figurative or literal home because we’re going somewhere beneficial or just for fun but maybe, like Jacob, we’re running from a conflict or a hard situation. The truth is that even Jacob had to go home and face his conflicts. He and his brother, Esau, had issues. You know, just your every day “I’m going to hunt you down and kill you!” type issues. NBD… Jacob feared for his life.
But check this out. The Lord came to Jacob in a dream and told him some amazing things about fulfilling His promises of offspring and blessings. He also promised Jacob this:
Just as the Lord promised Jacob that He would not leave him until the promise was fulfilled, the Lord promises you and me the same thing. The Lord will be with us and never leave us until He has done what He promised.
We can’t run forever. Whatever conflict we run from really will just be waiting for us in another season.
Let’s face the truth, you have to go home. And so do I. And God will be with us.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” Genesis 28:20-22
What’s your stone? Your pillar? For me, it’s a date. The date of this post as a matter of fact. The anniversary of an event that I find myself trying to run from every year. This date shows up every year. Weird how that happens. 🙂 As I encourage you to go “home” know that I am encouraging me to go “home” too. This stone, this post, will be a pillar to remind me that God is with me, He will not leave me and He will keep me safe until His promise is fulfilled.
~Andrea
For more encouragement, here is the message by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church that gave me some inspiration for this post.
There are times in our lives when it is so very clear that we are not meant to walk alone. Like pretty much all the time. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard on how to find our mate or find a friend or two is to walk your walk, live out your faith and while you’re doing that, look to each side and see who is walking with you.
I recently found myself looking to my sides and being so overwhelmed with God’s gracious provision. There was a particular day I was not meant to walk alone. A day when my kids were hurting, I was hurting and life was just heavy. And I couldn’t fix it. There really was nothing to fix. I just needed to know I wasn’t walking alone. This truth, “We’re all just walking each other home.” was more than evident in my life on that day.
It did, however, take a solo step from me first. I had to express the need. I had to share my hurt. I had to ask for prayer. I had to look to my side and see who was there and take the risk. Oh, vulnerability is such a risk. That is not an easy thing for me. I know how to do alone. I’m pro at that. I’m not so great at doing community. Walking with people means they know your stuff. It means you have to trust them. It means they see you. Maybe some of you or maybe all of you. It means they might hurt you. But it also means you’re not alone. We were made to live in community and when we don’t, our souls ache for more. God knew Adam didn’t need to be alone so he made Eve. Even God Himself didn’t want to be alone so he made us! He wanted to share His goodness with us. We all desire to be loved. Even God. We all want to walk with someone. Even God. I mean, who wants to go to the party alone?
Isn’t it always better to show up at the party with someone else?
So we have a choice. To walk alone or walk together. Two sets of footprints or one. I hope we’ll choose the together option. To those who were by my side when I needed you, to those whose footprints were beside mine, to those who have chosen to walk me a few steps closer to “home”, may God bless you as you have blessed me. I am so thankful for you!
THIS is what the whole purpose of this blog is about! Walking each other home.
“SO LET’S DO IT! —full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in ENCOURAGING LOVE AND HELPING OUT, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but SPURRING EACH OTHER ON, especially as we see the big Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:22-25 (The Message)
Empty Plate . Full Heart 