Dear Church

Heavy.  It’s all so heavy.  I peek from underneath the weight and wonder who’s hiding too.  Tired.  So tired.  From pushing back against the fear that rages all around me.  Fighting.  So much fighting.  The common ground beneath us shaking and shifting.  Raw.  Rubbed raw.  The chaffing and scratching at my heart from the hurt and confusion.  Losses.  I cannot count the losses.  For you, for me, in this new reality.

I try, in this moment to remember.  I try to recall who I am underneath it all.  Whose I am.  Where I am.  I am human and I am loved and there is an anchor tethering my heart to a peace that cannot give way or bend to the anxiety.

I crawl out from underneath and listen.  I hear the birds.  They still sing.  I see the wind rustling through the trees.  The branches sway, another day.  The sun’s still there, and so too is the air.  I breathe deep and press my feet hard down into my shoes and this moment.  I clench and unclench my fists and I release again.  The burden of this time and space.  It doesn’t seem as scary out here as I thought.  And I wonder who is the enemy that has pressed down on me, shaken me, and had me hiding underneath?

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Dear Church, remember, remember, who we are.  Anchored.  On the rock, we stand firm.  In His strength we can cling, to face another onslaught of tomorrows.  Peace, be still, and remain steady.  Though the world around may crumble, though governments rage, though culture throws stones, He remains and so shall we who remain in Him.

Steady, Church.  Together we stand, divided we fall.  Opinions may differ but our identity is unchanged.  We are the body and when one part suffers, we all suffer.  So let us suffer strong.  Let us suffer strong together because the battle is out there, not within here.  Here, we know and are known.  Here, we love and are loved.  Here we worship the same One, on the same dirt, and none of us deserved it. We worship together the One who loved us each first. 

So let us love one another.  In word.  In deed.  In unison.  Let us be unafraid.  Let us be unmoved.  Let us stop hiding underneath an unseen anxiety. Let not argument and distraction keep us from the One true cause and source of Love.  Because He who is among US is stronger than he who is in the world.  He is among us and we cannot and shall not fall.  We can be unafraid of it all while the birds sing and the air gives our lungs breath.  He is here and He is not finished.  He will yet be glorified. Let not the false ruler lead us into holes of hiding. Let our true Leader lead us closer to the cross, and to one another.

Dear Church, steady and strong, be not divided. The enemy of our souls is ready, but are we, to face him?