The more I grow in my faith, the more I realize that so much of Christianity is really about this:
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
Bearing one another’s burdens.
After being vulnerable and writing about infertility last month, many of you reached out to me with love, encouragement, compassion, and grace within moments of that article being published.
My people know how to fulfill the law of Christ.
My tribe loves well.
They bear my burdens.
They ask the hard questions.
They have entered in.
We all suffer. If you’re not going through a trial right now, you will be soon. That’s life. And being a Christian is no exception. God doesn’t promise us freedom from suffering, but He does promise us peace in the midst of suffering.
We all hurt. Behind the perfect pictures on Instagram, there is a hurting mom, a broken woman, a lonely friend. I see the post trying to cover up the hidden pain, the secret shame, the silent suffering. And when I do, I wish so badly that we as Christians would allow each other a little more freedom, a little more grace when we suffer. I wish we could be real, rather than pretend everything’s “okay.”
We all suffer. If you’re not going through a trial right now, you will be soon. That’s life. And being a Christian is no exception.
Perhaps that’s why I’ve always liked candid photos better. They’re not picture perfect. I love catching the real life moments, even if we’re not perfectly posed, or looking at the camera, or it’s a little blurry. Candids are real; real moments, real life. Not the pretendy ones we want to create and then post for everyone to see.
If I’m honest, sometimes it’s easier, it’s safer, to live in the “picture perfect.” If I can just pretend that everything is okay, if I can pose just right in my cute outfit, then everyone will see I’m okay. It’s safer that way.
But I remember I’m not called to easy, or pretty, or safe, or “perfect.” As a Christian, I am called to community, to real life, to honesty, to confession, to humility, and to vulnerability.
I am called not only to bear others burdens, but also to allow them to bear mine. I am called to enter in and allow others to do the same. To enter in my mess, my sin, my pain, and allow them to carry me.
And that is hard.
It is hard to trust people that much. It is hard to let
others in to not only know how work is going, but to let them know how marriage is going.
I’m not called to easy, or pretty, or safe, or “perfect.”
I usually try and talk myself out of sharing the real answer to “how are you doing” because I don’t want to burden others, or I’m embarrassed, or it’s too much work to go there, or I just don’t feel like talking about it.
And those are the moments I need to enter in the most.
I need to be humble enough to ask for prayer, to say I’m not okay, and to share my burden.
Do you enter in?
Do you allow others to bear your burdens?
Are you willing to be humble, open, and vulnerable?
Do you have people who are willing to walk through the messy and the hard with you?
If not, what steps can you take to pursue healthy relationships with others?
Are you willing to walk through the messy and the hard with others?
Are you willing to enter in, even it costs you some of your time, some of your comfort?
Are you willing to enter in?
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