You and Me

(photo from animetym.net)

Today’s blog post is probably more for me. I love you and I’m here to help in so many ways, but…..

I’m not here to do it for you.

What a liberating thought!

I’m not here to learn it for you. I’m not here to rescue you. I’m not here to “do life” for you; to save you from the hard stuff or clean up your messes.

I am here to go through life with you. I’m here to learn with you, to wrestle with you, to laugh with you – to travel this journey with you!

(picture from hollywoodreporter.com)

If you recall, months ago I mentioned reading a book called Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. (Find it here. Or at your local second hand store.)

The book was great. Not always easy, but great. Now, the ripples it’s making in my life are very energizing and empowering. Just to rehash, one of the main benefits to having boundaries is knowing where I end and you begin; seeing that circle drawn around us, and recognizing that I’m not responsible for your actions, or even for your re-actions to life as it unfolds around you. I’m responsible for me.

Sounds a little selfish at first.

I’m here for you; I’m here to support you or to help you, perhaps even to instruct you in some manner. I can be here to hold you and help you pick up the pieces. But, you’re responsible for your circle of life; for what you do and how you respond to what you encounter.

Liberating? Yes! I am not responsible for saving the world! Yay! It intrigues me that so many people already knew this; and that so many more don’t.

(photo from talon.tfc.edu)

Does that mean I can just withdraw into a hole and hide from everything?

Absolutely not.

I’m still a vibrant part of everything that goes on around me, including what goes on in your circle.

But, I’m not here to fix you. I’m not even here to point out what’s wrong in your life!

I am here to love you.

(picture from pixabay.com)

I am here to stand with you and encourage you and walk beside you.

I am here to pray for you, to intercede from time to time, to share what I’m learning and to share in what you’re learning.

I’m often tempted to intervene for my friends and “do it for them”….. I’m sorry. That’s denying you the privilege to do it yourself and gain all that comes from that accomplishment, that step forward…. I never want to hold you back, but, I’ll always lend a helping hand – as God directs!

(meme from bootstrapper.com)

Jesus is our help, our salvation; always. No one else can dictate how He’ll help or rescue us, no one else can determine who He will or won’t use in our lives, what methods He’ll contrive to reach us and to deliver us; God alone is the Master of His Plan.

There are scriptures which appear to contradict each other. Two such scriptures are these, found in the book of Galatians:

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

“For every man shall bear his own burden.” (Galatians 6:5)

Studying these verses, we’ll find that verse two refers to burdens that would crush us, while verse five refers to burdens that we may squirm beneath, but that are ours alone to carry. Sometimes we think those burdens are too heavy to shoulder alone. But, think about it – the stories and movies we love the best, involve someone overcoming something they thought would destroy them. We’re so much stronger than we know; there’s so much more to who we are than we dare imagine. And God never really leaves us alone, He’s always with us – always enabling and empowering us, always helping us.

(meme from godsgracefulness.com)

If we leave the room and miss a part of one of those great “over-comer” movies, where the hero rises up to accomplish the impossible, we’ll ask, “How did they do that?” and are often compelled to watch the movie again.

(meme from memegenerator.com)

Whether the burden will crush us or define us, God is our help. Yes, He uses those around us, but He alone is the source of our strength.

Psalm 54:4 – “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” (NIV)