"Me too."
And suddenly, there is a flicker at the end of what you thought was an endless tunnel. If she made it, so can I. A light is ignited.
How can two tiny words be so powerful? Why does that phrase say more than any motivational speech or sermon?
Empathy. It is one thing to hear someone's troubles, and something inexplicably different to have experienced them. While a listening ear is a powerful support, a knowing heart is a lifeline from God. On one end, we share our story, and on the other we receive a gift of hope, because knowing you are not alone lets you fight the present battle with that much more resiliency.
As part of an anti-bullying campaign, our school had us fill out surveys that informed us whether or not we needed to work on our empathizing skills. Really? Empathy is not something to be built, it draws from your past. It comes to us without our consent - a bitter, revolting, painful thorn when we receive it, but a sweet, saving, beautiful gift when we can finally share it with someone else in those two breathtaking words: Me too.
I was there too. I have borne that cross. I have climbed that staggering mountain. I have faced those jeering demons. I have waited those unending hours. I have screamed in that pain. Me too. And I made it beyond that.
You will too.
*inspiration credit - another awesome pastor and another great sermon.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Belonging
Family. Team. Club. Society. Groupies. Posse. Gang. Wolf pack.
The place where you belong.
Everyone has one in mind, whether it is something you are a part of now, or something you hope to find. If you are really lucky, several groups come to mind. You may have seen this post, where I talked about my years playing field hockey. That team has become a second family to me, and I love those girls - I belong there.
But I can't talk about belonging without bringing up one of the most eclectic, energetic, accepting, downright fun bunches of people I know: CHAOS. As a youth group, we go by that title as an acronym of how we hope to demonstrate our faith in this world, Christ Honored and Others Served, but we also tend to embody the word itself. The first time I came to this group was the day before my 14th birthday. I don't remember much from that Wednesday evening, except being sung to in the most amazing fashion ever and suddenly finding that my favorite day was smack in the middle of the week.
We have some wonderful youth leaders who challenge and nurture us. We are a mishmash of backgrounds, opinions and personalities that come together to make complacency impossible and force us to truly think through our beliefs. This is where I have grown most as a person and as a Christian.
Mennonite Youth Convention, CHAOS Theater, service projects, Deerpark - all mountaintop experiences that I will remember for a lifetime. The best part? I get a mountaintop experience every single week, because it's not about what we are doing, it's about the people and the conversations and the love that make up this crazy gang.
Each Wednesday, I breath a sigh of relief as I open the back door, and regardless of how I feel at the moment my heart lifts when I enter that hallway. This is a place where I am comfortable being exactly who I am. This is a place where I can be honest. This is a place where I am loved.
This is a place where I belong.
The place where you belong.
Everyone has one in mind, whether it is something you are a part of now, or something you hope to find. If you are really lucky, several groups come to mind. You may have seen this post, where I talked about my years playing field hockey. That team has become a second family to me, and I love those girls - I belong there.
But I can't talk about belonging without bringing up one of the most eclectic, energetic, accepting, downright fun bunches of people I know: CHAOS. As a youth group, we go by that title as an acronym of how we hope to demonstrate our faith in this world, Christ Honored and Others Served, but we also tend to embody the word itself. The first time I came to this group was the day before my 14th birthday. I don't remember much from that Wednesday evening, except being sung to in the most amazing fashion ever and suddenly finding that my favorite day was smack in the middle of the week.
We have some wonderful youth leaders who challenge and nurture us. We are a mishmash of backgrounds, opinions and personalities that come together to make complacency impossible and force us to truly think through our beliefs. This is where I have grown most as a person and as a Christian.
Mennonite Youth Convention, CHAOS Theater, service projects, Deerpark - all mountaintop experiences that I will remember for a lifetime. The best part? I get a mountaintop experience every single week, because it's not about what we are doing, it's about the people and the conversations and the love that make up this crazy gang.
Each Wednesday, I breath a sigh of relief as I open the back door, and regardless of how I feel at the moment my heart lifts when I enter that hallway. This is a place where I am comfortable being exactly who I am. This is a place where I can be honest. This is a place where I am loved.
This is a place where I belong.
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