Bound Up Together - #7

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.”

-Philippians 4:19

I opened the letter from a mysterious sender, and inside I found a blank card that held two things: A $200 gift card to our local grocery store and this verse (written above) on the back of the gift card receipt. My husband and I were in amazement! This happened about 6 months ago when we were going through a rough season financially. Sometimes we can’t always see how certain events prepare us for something that is ahead, but in retrospect it is sufficiently evident, isn’t it? This reminder of God’s faithful provision was preparation for what He knew was just around the corner for us...

As I mentioned in my blog post, Engaging Operational Trust, my husband (Blake) lost his job last month. Since then, I have seen an outpouring of Christ-imitating, steadfast, comforting, faithful love envelop our family, even amidst all the difficulties and confusion. After this dreadful news reached our ears, hit our hearts and confused our plans that day, God’s mercy caught us. Let me explain, because there is awe to behold.

Our pastors had planned a month before this, to lead a two day marriage conference on February 7-8. While we were excited about it, there was no childcare offered so when we first considered going, we settled with a ‘maybe’... (one night and one full day of babysitting adds up!). God wanted us there though. After hearing about this awesome- sounding conference at church that one Sunday in January, I realized that the dates sounded familiar. So I did what I always do when I plan... I pulled out my iphone calendar. Sure enough, the dates lined up exactly with the weekend my mom was already coming to visit for Grandparents Day! This (adorable) school event took place on the morning of February 7, and Part One of the marriage conference took place later that night. My mom was delighted to be able to help and agreed to stay for an extra day. “That was easy!” I thought to myself. Now, I see why. Take a guess as to what day Blake found out that he was out of work for the unforeseeable future?... Yep! February 7. The exact day of our planned church gathering. One month ago now, to the day.

Sitting at the dinner table with my kids and my mom, waiting for Blake to come home to pick me up for our conference that night, I got a text... It read:

“I can’t talk because I have a lot to do, but today was my last day.

I have to pack up everything.”

My heart sank. My eyes widened. My words were lost. All I could say in response was, “Meet me at the church.” Not only did Blake meet me there after he ‘’closed up shop’ at his freshly severed place of work... so did God.

I’m sure I was emitting all kinds of perplexity as I walked into the marriage conference alone that night, trying to shield my grief. At least that’s what I told myself I looked like, so I tried to hide among the crowd. I spotted some close friends of mine with ample room around them, so as indistinctly as possible, I made my way over to the row of empty seats next to them. My plan was to keep this grievous secret to myself and hold back all talk about it until I saw Blake. However, God had different plans. My sweet friend and I exchanged hugs, a bit of small talk, and then the Holy Spirit meant business because He then took hold of her verbiage and had her ask me how Blake’s work was going (!!!). I am the worst liar ever, so the grievous secret I talked about keeping... yeah, it just came out. We hugged, we talked a bit more about it and then the music started. I tried to calm my fears and focus on the words but it was trivial, as I kept thinking about Blake’s condition. Then a song caught my attention. It reeled me in as the Holy Spirit started sopping up the mess of my bleeding heart. My friend knew of my desperation and in the midst of those poignant moments in worship, I unraveled under the love of my compassionate Father in the form of her volitional arm around my shoulder. I cried in her embrace. It felt good to release. I realized in that moment, that God was going to do something big within this divinely appointed time.... while our hearts were malleable.

Blake finally made it. When we had a chance to talk, he approved the remittance of this arduous news to our good friends. I was relieved that he was comfortable sharing because like I said, I hadn’t planned on relaying any of it without him. I don’t know if we actually would have if the scenario hadn’t played out as it did. God knew however, that we needed support and tangible encouragement on that specific day... within our darkest hours of mystifying pain. Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Our wounds were fresh, vulnerable and inflicting harrowing pain upon us. He knew this day would come and He arranged for us to land at His doorstep... in the heart of His home....within His church. His church is not only a building, it is a body. We experienced that night, the incredible power it has when it moves in accordance with His perfect will.

We indeed were met with a vast amount of wisdom within these two marriage teaching sessions. We felt the binding love of the Holy Spirit, which validated and calmed us. We realized how much we need to rely on each other through this storm and we learned some very practical advice in keeping our commitment to each other forever strong. I will never forget God’s kindness in arranging for our need of His presence and church body on this difficult day.

More recently, our church has been studying 1 Thessalonians. I love so much of what Paul emphasizes within it: Steadfastness, sanctification, imitating Christ, faith, hope and abounding love. In chapter 2, He speaks of delighting to share life and truth with other Christians (verse 8). He talks of encouraging, comforting and urging each other to live lives worthy of God (verse 12). In verse 19, he explains how he cherishes the growth he sees his Thessalonican friends obtaining. Their growing faith provides him with the joy, the hope and the encouragement he needs to continue his ministry. His love for them inspires and strengthens him deeply. This philos love (greek for “brotherly love”) has captivated me lately and has recently become a palpable phenomenon among my own friendships, (family included!). I have felt closeness with friends before but never in such alignment with the Spirit and in such a great amount of friends from all different places at one time. This is what my Pastor called, “lives that are bound up together in Christ.” God wants to graft our Christ-reaching hearts together and strengthen His body to prove that He can be bigger than our worries and is able to provide for every need when we choose to trust Him.

Over the last month, not only have we been blessed by an outpouring of love through messages, phone calls and prayer, but we have had doors to unattained dreams open, we’ve been blessed by side jobs that have been unsuccessfully sought after in the past, we have had a group of our amazing friends gift us with a basket of our favorite treats and grocery/’essential item’ store gift cards totaling $700 (I know!), AND we just got a phone call from my daughters private school yesterday, explaining that an anonymous friend of ours paid for two months of her tuition costs (THANK YOU if you’re reading this!!!)! God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think when we trust HIM! (Eph. 3:20)

I have seen such beauty and growth within all of this difficulty. Life is emerging out of the loss that was easily able to steal our joy, if we let it. I refuse to allow my joy to be stolen! I am trusting that He will lead us exactly where He wants us to go, just as He always has. The friendships God has blessed me with in life have provided me with encouragement, comfort, delight, inspiration and growth in ways that only God could have planned. These friendships are also every bit a part of why I feel so empowered to write what I do. I am understanding more and more what it means to be ‘bound up together in Christ’ and the capacity for plenteous hope that our philos love for each other brings to us and the rest of the world. With my Christ-focused friends/family and husband by my side, God as my guide, and a strengthened hope as my inspiration, I will have everything I need.