Coming out from the Shadows into Fellowship! UNITE Linky

The Northwest is known for rain.  Anyone who lives here, knows it’s no myth that it rains, non-stop, constantly, about ten months of the year.

In winter, people hide indoors.  Seasonal Effective Disorder is a condition plaguing our little corner of the nation.  Isolation.  Sadness.  Depression. Hibernation.

Many here have had it.  I have had it.

But, there is just something about sunshine. When the sun comes out, people flee outdoors.  Away from their walled fortresses.  Out from under the roofs that held them captive….all winter.

And it is not just that we are drawn to the sun like mosquitoes to a fire lit marshmallow roasting pit. But, we are drawn to one another.

People gather at parks, campsites, beaches.  We are drawn together…not because we are any different than months earlier….but simply because the sun is out.

And in writing about UNITY this week, I think of how we too flee, hide, retreat from one another when we don’t see the Son.  How we can turn inward, downcast, away from the true fellowship intended for believers.  How we can loose sight, isolate, and find refuge in darkness….when we depend on anything other than….His precious light making us one.

As a child, I knew my own capabilities.  I had none.  I was painfully shy, so much so that you could find me having break-downs when I had to be around lots of people.

But now, as an adult, I realize and am accepting….I have no hope without Christ…no worth….no ability to rise up and be anything other than what He empowers me to be.

Yes, I am learning more and more to accept my own weaknesses…and in that, the freedom it gives me to love other people more.  My eyes shifting, away from me and to others.  Their hearts, their needs, their gifts in this world.  Like a detective continually searching for the good in other people.  

Seeing my identity is not in me or how I am insufficient, but having an identity based solely and completely on who God says I am.

And it is not because I have read more self help books or that I studies psychology in college.  It’s only the Son that has drawn me out from my defenses, away from me, away from the corners that secretly held me captive.

And this freedom is all due to The Son.

Today, I drive in our convertible with my daughter to the beach. We laugh, talk, and I embrace this freedom…so much freedom in our ability to see ourselves simply as God sees us.

Looking back, I barely recognize who I was.  The hidden one, frozen, painfully afraid of people.

Still, I write this knowing.  His hope is enough.  His light and way and his Son wants to shine upon you too….no matter who you are or where you have come from, no matter how “imperfect” you are, or what you have done, or how you have feared.  

For in Him is perfect peace.  It is the only way to draw near….draw together.  Really know from the wells of our being….genuine, heartfelt, transparent UNITY.

Will you come out of the shadows and join the freedom movement of UNITE!

By His Grace and rejoicing in His freedom,
Jen

O.k. Everyone, time to add your link below!

(Linking today with Jen, Titus2)