Relationships. So incredibly wonderful, yet so incredibly tough.
I mean, what else could bring you the most inexpressible joy and yet the most heartbreaking pain? I can remember seasons of pain in my life that felt so unbearable, it seemed like shutting down was the only choice that I had. Looking back on these experiences, I've come to learn that you can't pick and choose what things to feel. When you close yourself off to one emotion, you'll eventually start to close yourself off to all of them. Even with the best intentions, shutting down feelings of pain will not only affect your relationships with people, but most importantly your relationship with God.
It’s easy to look at our lives and focus what's wrong or lacking. We’ve all had disappointments and regrets when it comes to relationships. Too often we can get caught up thinking about our past experiences and wondering what our lives would look like had made better choices, but we can’t stay in that place. If we want to experience all that God has for us, we must learn from our past, engage in the present, and set our eyes on the future. We need to learn how to open ourselves up enough to feel the pain so that we free ourselves to experience the fullness of His joy.
I believe wholeheartedly in God. I believe in the Church- the body of Christ. And I also believe that we have an enemy trying to divide what God sacrificed His Son to unify. God created us in relationship, for relationship, and as The Church of Jesus, I believe that we can do way more together than we can apart. Our call as a church is togetherness; it’s family, and that's not always an easy task. One of the biggest benefits and challenges of church is people; yet even with our differences, we can't afford to stop fighting for each other and fighting for unity.
Colossians 3:14-16 says:
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
The best way I know how to work through pain is thankfulness. I’m not talking about the polite "thank you" people say when receiving their Starbucks drink or that feeling you get when someone opens the door, but a genuine thankfulness that changes our perspective and focuses our attention away from ourselves and onto Jesus. When we remember the ultimate price that was paid so that we might live in freedom, things begin to change.
Even though doing life together can be complicated at times, let’s continue to be the church that God has called us to be. Let us be known by our love for one another and for having the peace of Jesus that carries us through the most dire of situations. Let us be known as a people that knows the word of God and lives it out, encouraging one another and holding each other up. A church that loves and worships God, and most of all, a church that is thankful for each other and for Jesus.
MIA DAYAO
Worship Director
