Room
Galatians 6:2 (niv)
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
One of the hardest disciplines I’m trying to develop is letting people take care of me. I am the carer. I am the nurturer. I don’t need anyone else to take care of me because I take care of myself and my family. This kind of self-mutilating attitude creates nothing but loneliness, resentment, and even anxiety about having to shoulder burdens that were meant to be shared.
I was so used to being this independent superhuman that I felt invincible. My husband and I were happy. We were finally ready to focus on expanding our family. When I got pregnant, I felt even more super-human than before. I was growing a human. I was loving Jesus, eating well, exercising, killing it at my job, and looking forward to that first appointment when we could finally see our little nugget.
We saw her heartbeat. It was there, clear as day - little flashes on the screen, a beacon of vitality. But the flashes were too slow. I was burdened with just enough medical knowledge to know that, soon, my world would fall apart.
We were told decisively that this pregnancy would not be viable. The answer? Come back in a week to see if there’s still a heartbeat. That week was the worst of my life. Knowing that I had a baby but could lose her at any time, without knowing, was heartbreaking. I couldn’t hold her. I couldn’t ease her passing. All I could do was wait.
During that week, we chose to be vulnerable. We shared the news with our close friends, our families, and my women’s small group. Because we needed to. The burden was too great, and we knew we had people who loved us and would pray for us, for a miracle for our baby.
After our miscarriage was confirmed, I could barely function. All I could feel was the loss.
All the while, in the background, the love of Jesus was palpable. We were being taken care of. People brought us cards, flowers, food, and small comforts just to say, “We’re thinking of you.”
Having our basic needs met in this time was one of the most meaningful gifts we’ve been given. I didn’t have to focus on taking care of myself or my husband. I could focus on mourning, on healing.
In the same way, the disciples were taken care of in the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection. There were many people who supported the ministry of Jesus by offering lodgings and food to the Messiah and his followers. In the time immediately after the crucifixion, when the prophecy was fulfilled but the future seemed so uncertain, the disciples needed those basic necessities met so they could focus on what came next.
What I learned from that season of life was that letting others take care of you creates space for focusing on healing and growing. Whether this is through providing food, doing laundry, or running errands, when someone takes the necessities of life off your plate, you have more room. Room to focus. Room to process. Room to mourn. Room to seek the Lord and his supernatural healing. Room to grow in the midst of the trial.
You don’t have to have a single, traumatic event take place to feel like you need help. Chronic health issues, long-term struggles, anything holding your spirit captive - all of these things need more room if you’re going to experience healing, freedom in your spirit, or more abundant life in the midst of struggle.
We were not meant to do this thing alone. God created us in community and invites us over and over to share one another’s burdens. This includes helping your neighbor create room on their plate when the world is overwhelming and they need space for healing, growth, and Jesus.
So when you look at your own life, at this very moment, where is your focus? Is it on something over than Jesus? Where do you need room? How can you ask someone in your community to help you make room this week?
Over the next few weeks, you can find reflections here at vineyardrichmond.com. Use them to prompt yourself to focus on your faith in a fresh way. Each week we will consider a different theme as we build up to the resurrection event. On Mondays, we will draw your attention to a biblical focus on a character in the gospel accounts. On Wednesdays, we will reflect personally on how that theme affects our spiritual lives. On Fridays, we will focus outwardly as we consider how God is inviting us to engage the world around us for his kingdom. If what you are learning is meaningful to you, click one of the share buttons at the top of these posts to share it with your friends. Let this be a time of personal reflection and careful examination of our own hearts and minds.