Tuesday, January 22, 2008

You can't help me.

I know, you want to try. You'd like to tell me all these truths about who I am in Christ, how beautiful I really am, how wonderful my personality is. You would like to counteract every lie I believe about myself. You want to help me because you love me, I know. But the truth is, you can't. I can't let you.

I was driving home tonight after a slightly stressful Bible study for my fragile emotions and spirit. And as I drove I felt the familiar darkness creep in. The thoughts of why God continues to torture me with life and loneliness and all the other little demons that claw their ways into my depression. I was thinking about how I always find myself in this place, as I often do at these times, and I finally banked on something. This darkness is an escape mechanism. By focusing my thoughts and attentions on suicide and depression, I basically check out of living life with any kind of hope or dream or will. I simply survive another day and that in itself is the reward. How sad is this? Yet, it's where I am and it's where I'll be. Until I truly desire change (and why would I if it's such an excellent cop-out), I will find myself here night after night. So, I'm sorry I suck at being someone I want to be (mainly happy and hopeful) and am so good at being this checked-out, dark, cynical, bitter, angry version of who I am. Thanks for being my friend anyway.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Callings...

For years I have held in this confession. Allowed people to believe this lie. Let myself believe which is even worse. I don't hear God's voice. I don't see His hand move. At least not literally. I perceive these things and my perceptions then lead to scripturally founding them so I can then discern whether this is truly something God would do or say or move in accordance with His unchanging character. The problem with letting everyone, including myself, believe that I do in fact hear God or see Him move lies in what I justify away as "spirituality".

I was at a meeting this evening. Now my reasons for attending said meeting may not have been entirely without agenda. Ok, ok - there may have been someone I might have been interested in seeing, but that's really not the point. Sometimes I need to remember that humans are in deed capable of disappointing regardless of how high one has steeped their hope is one particular human. Anyway, meeting is concerning a prayer movement felt within our community for it seems many years. I am a relatively new prayer aficionado. I used to dislike it immensely cuz it felt like talking to air. Now however, much more like talking to my friend who loves no matter how absolutely horrible I can be, or stubborn... Yes, I can be stubborn and mean. Again, irrelevant.

During the course of this meeting, some things are brought up concerning questions like "Where do we go from here?" And as one might imagine, someone brings up the need for... administration. And the question goes out, "Does anyone have a gifting in administration?" My stomach begins to roll. Now if you know the story, I just stepped out of administration in another capacity claiming I do not have time and it's too much stress, etc... And I had vowed not to sign up for anything at this meeting because I need to spend time with God right now, more than I need more ministry. So, the meeting continues and a dear friend beside me starts giggling and nudging me ever so slightly. and a person pipes up across the room, my heart falls thinking, "Oh, they feel the call. It's not me, God didn't choose me for this role." And the person simply lays out what we need, but doesn't want the job. Another person pipes up and sounds like maybe THEY are the one, but it becomes clear they aren't called. And so it goes for the remainder of the meeting and my stomach rolls and rolls, it feels like I may either scream out "I AM CALLED!!!" or vomit horrendously. Until lo and behold, someone points at me and asks if I'm interested in helping administer. To which I feel my head nod yes.

Crap.

Now, my problem isn't in administering. Or the movement. Not even the stretching I know is sure to ensue. No, my issue lies with humility. See, I'm so terrified I have just signed up to demonstrate my gift of administration. Notice, I did not say use or bless others or anything else that might imply God is in the forefront of my thinking in this. No, I find myself absolutely scared that I have just signed on to prove my spiritual worth yet again. But it's not like before. I've never felt this strongly about something, even now I feel the rolling in my stomach. It's like I knew I could be used and I wanted to worship God in using His creation (me) the way He designed it. I just wanted to be His, however He wanted to use me was His decision. And to top it all off, people kept throwing out these "mundane" details like licensing and organization, structure as if they were something to be avoided at all cost. And at each new thing my heart jumped more and my eyes lit up and my mind started to race planning the strategic plan and workflow for getting this thing to a tangible, fluid movement.

So, there you go. My "no ministry" days totaled 5 altogether... I sure pray that this doesn't blow up in my face... again...

Monday, January 14, 2008

I see you...

I know what you see when you look at me. A woman barely keeping her life together. A child pretending to be an adult in her job and social circles. A girl with big brown eyes pleading with you to help her fix what she broke over and over again. That little girl is me. After finally letting go of my short-lived church commitments, I had hoped that I would be free. Free to just experience Jesus and fellowship and life. But what I find, what I always find, is instead an emptiness and a despair so dark and deep I can barely stay on this side of the edge. And I have to ask myself why I always find myself in this place. I'm afraid I don't have an answer.

It seems to me from this perspective that I'm not somehow living the life I was supposed to. Like I accidentally missed 494 and instead continued straight on through on 94 when I should have been in Edina. Instead, I get the chaos of downtown Minneapolis where streets don't really make sense and there are more one ways to travel than two ways. Heaven forbid you get on the one that makes you loop downtown for two hours... But that's me. I never could do much right and I always seem to find myself in the awkward place of not quite knowing what is going on. It doesn't matter what today's singular struggle is, it's simply a rotation of unmanageable feelings and rejections. I wonder to myself, is this what losing your mind feels like? Is this how it works when you start to slip away?

I am constantly vigilant of how I feel because I am so familiar with the darkness and doubt that drove me from the one thing that is good about my life. All those years ago when I turned away and said "My way!" I know that didn't work for me. But neither is this. So, where do i go from here? What formula should I choose to try to fix what's broken in my life? Which name can I give me demons today? Because isn't that what this is about? The spiritual realm fighting for me and my heart. But what about the times I just can't seem to fight...

I see you. I know you. I love you. I can hold you up when you want to fall. I can catch you when you step over the edge. I have been here waiting to catch you for a long time. Come, be with me and I will be with you. I'm knocking, please let me in. I want you. To me, you are a masterpiece, a beautiful mess. You're mine. Please let me save you... again...