YOU are a SENDER. You were designed by God to be a sender.
Let’s break down the word SENDER. I will be posting every Monday for the next 6 weeks on what sending means to me in a deeper way. So, let’s get started. S -- SIT When someone is willing to hear your pain and not want to run afterwards because you are “too messed up,” it’s a humbling experience. When my friends and family did this for me—when they were willing to sit with me in my pain—it let me know that I was not alone, that people truly care, that friendships might come and go but can also deepen over time. Looking back, I now cherish some of these hard moments because of the Christ-like love I experienced, through my circle of loved ones, in those difficult times. Intentional relationship and rich friendships were on full display. They let me know that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body of Christ suffers. By sitting with me in my pain, they helped me to see the gaps within myself where I needed to heal some more. They let me know that it was a safe space to grieve and to ask questions and to heal in my heart. Heart health matters. By sitting with me, my family and friends helped me to not get stuck in the pain process. They helped me to move forward toward freedom. They helped me to keep going. When you are in the middle of the grief or loss process, you don’t know what you need. You are grasping for straws hoping something will stick. For me, what stuck was worship, the space to just sit in His presence and allow the healing to start. This was critical to allow a good, healthy grief to take place. Your mind will want to get full of something, and the best thing you can nourish your mind with is The Word of God. There is purpose in reading the Word, and if reading doesn’t work, try an audio recording of the Word. You have to find a way to get God’s Word activated in your heart and mind. The more you fill your mind with it, the stronger you become to overcome the negative thoughts and emotions. There is something called Clean Pain vs. Dirty Pain. I learned this in my life coaching training with Justin and Abi Stumvoll. If you want to know more about who they are and what they do, check out Stumvollconsulting.com. Dirty pain is when you attach guilt, shame, regret, or what ifs to your thoughts and they start manifesting in your emotional capital and affecting your body. Clean pain is allowing the feelings of pain to come, but you attached truth, and not lies, to those feelings. Lies make things feel dirty. Truth allows you to see things from a more Kingdom perspective and the “dirtiness” lifts off of you. “The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.” -Matthew 11:30, NCV Now, this verse is hard to swallow in our own strength, but when you bring the Holy Spirit in to your struggles, things start to feel lighter. So, sit with someone and allow the presence of the Holy Spirit to come into the room. Pray and ask Him to sit with you. He is always faithful to come. He will start the mending within. He is a faithful Savior. I can’t wait to continue this conversation next week with the letter E. And, remember, no matter your day, you can always bring your cheer and smile from ear to ear!