A testimony is a witness to faith and strength in tough times. Sometimes, it is shared after a struggle when you hit the pits but came out experiencing God’s blessings. Others speak their testimony in the midst of the pain, loss, and uncertainty to reaffirm what God is doing in their life.
One of our members shared this testimony on Facebook recently. I’ll let the words speak for themselves:
I’ve never been one to use Facebook as my forum for personal reflection, but here’s to firsts. I’m losing my father to cancer. Admitting these words to myself, let alone others, has been a difficult process. I am not posting for sympathy, but rather in response to a call. Many are hurting like I, and this fact weighs me down tremendously.
At every terrible turn of cancer, I have found myself asking where is God in all this? Tonight at our pub discussion group we asked where is God in the Aurora shooting? The answer I’ve worked out:
God is in the midst of the Hurt. God is in the Help. God is in the Healing.
Too often we focus on WHY. WHY does my Dad have cancer? WHY did this evil event have to happen? Instead of watching God do miracles in the aftermath of the shit that life can throw at us. And even worse, we miss out on being a part of that miraculous healing. With my dad, I’ve seen people open their hearts with love in a way that is truly godly, affirming and miraculous. Out of the worst, I’ve seen the best. I pray that others will see this too. I felt that I couldn’t sleep well until I proclaimed that God is the Great Healer, and though there is darkness in the world, there is always hope in God.
Thanks be to God for this witness – and for the love of God that seeks to surround and fill all.
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Leave a comment | tags: god, healing, hope, love, power, strength, struggle, testimony in the face of hurt, where is god, where is god in the aurora tragedy | posted in Prayer, Words
Our new Wholeness Group is still in its infancy. We are meeting for the third time tonight, looking at chapter two from Addiction and Grace. There is still plenty of time to catch up and join in the conversation. I still have about three extra books for anyone who needs one.
Remember, this group is less about recovery and more about finding balance and healing. We are not trying to fix anyone in our sessions together. There is opportunity to share stories, struggles, hopes, and ideas.
The two big keys for me out of the reading for this week are these two lines, both on page 31:
“First, although God calls us all toward more perfect life, we cannot personally achieve the state of perfection. … Second, we need to recognize that the incompleteness within us, our personal insufficiency, does not make us unacceptable in God’s eyes.”
Struggling with our addictions, whether they are chemical, relationship, work, or whatever, is about realizing our limits. We can’t fix ourselves. We can’t easily solve this addiction. And that fact does not make us less lovable. We are still loved. God still finds great value in us. There is always hope. Once we admit that we cannot simply overcome these issues, the more likely we are to begin the path toward healing.
If you know someone who is looking for a safe place for this kind of conversation or if you need an informal, supportive group of folks to vent about your struggle to find wholeness, join us this evening, 6:30 PM in the Disciples Room at East Dallas Christian Church (629 N. Peak St., Dallas, TX).
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Leave a comment | tags: addiction, conversation, dallas, east dallas, east dallas christian church, grace, hope, informal, love, recovery, struggle, support, wholeness group | posted in Links, Upcoming Events
Like many of you, I struggle trying to find balance in life. Whether its work, family life, time for me, or time with God, I’m always having to make choices that reveal where my priorities are. Sometimes, it feels like I make the wrong choices. Other times, I make the right choices. It feels like I’m doing a high wire act over the Dallas skyline.
This has been especially true for me as I just sent my wife and kids off to Korea. When they are here, I can easily tune myself out when I am in their presence with tv, computer, or work issues. But now that they are gone and our apartment is so quiet, I regret tuning them out at all. I would give anything for them to be back, even with my kids’ uncanny ability to leave out toys in unlikely places so I can step on them and almost require medical attention.
In the moment of life, priorities can easily get mixed up. Yes, bringing home financial resources to provide for our family is so important, but is it important enough to risk missing out on events in their life that only come around once?
Is taking on a second job to pay off debt worth it if it means we end up working ourselves into exhaustion?
Can we find time in our lives to say “no” to our family so we can rest in quiet or have a conversation with a close friend over a cup of coffee?
If we commit to growing as followers of Jesus, how do we make spirituality a daily affair in the chaos and unpredictability of life?
These are not easy questions to answer, and yet we are all there in one way or another. Learning how to set boundaries and priorities may go a long way in determining the kind of balance we develop in our life. And it is so hard to do.
I don’t have all the answers, but I am inviting you to share in conversation with us through the month of June at the Table. We’ll be digging into these questions, looking at some great stories and passages in the Bible that challenge us, and listening to God and one another as we seek balance and wholeness. Maybe you know a friend or two who might be interested in this conversation.
Let’s practice this tightrope walk together.
See you in June!
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