Hey Kettle. It’s Pot. You’re Black.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone, say a close friend, in which everything that you said to them turned out to be a truth that you needed to hear?

In other words, the circumstance that they were in, the thoughts and feelings they had, mirrored your own and when you attempted to speak into it  you realized that you had not practiced what you were preaching.

I have a real bad habit of being “that person.”  Let’s be honest, plenty of Christians know what to say, know what to recommend: more of Jesus.  But when it comes to walking that out, well… we stay put.

Last week, one of my closest friends expressed to me that she was very “unsure” about a particular situation she was in.  She knew where she wanted to be, confident of the destination that she hoped to arrive at, but was afraid of taking the next step to get there.

Confident that I could help encourage her from “past” experiences, I spoke up.

Well ___________ (friend’s name), at some point you will have to determine that if the destination holds greater value than where you stand now, you have to step out into the water. Just like the Israelites. When the Lord brought them to the river, He promised to lead them across dry land, but they had to put their feet in first. They had to obey His direction even when they didn’t understand the course.

God promises to grant you the desires of your heart, and if you think you see them just on the horizon, but the river of fears is at your feet, you have to step in first before He can dry them up.

And who’s to say that the roaring water isn’t just a farce.  We all have our insecurities and doubts.  But what if we stepped out into them… I wonder if we wouldn’t realize how shallow they really are. More than that, what waits on the other side should be the bigger motivation. Freedom. Deliverance. Life no longer defined or dictated by fear.

Take the chance. Take just one step.

In that moment, I heard a third voice in our conversation.

“Psst, Mere. God here. I hope you paid attention to what you just said.  Ironically enough, that’s what I have been trying to tell you but you keep avoiding me.”

She didn’t say anything.  I didn’t say anything.  Turns out, I had spoken the very thing I had heard spoken to me, but instead of being encouraged and taking the chance, taking that step, I said “thanks,” and kept sitting on the water’s edge staring at the river.

At least my friend had her eyes on the horizon.  My gaze had been completely fixated on the rushing water.  

If you sit in one place long enough, convincing yourself that your comfortable where you are and that you can manage your fear simply by looking at it, you’ll find you lose sight of the vision because you became consumed by the view. 

My friend just looked at me. “That’s huge,” she said.

“Yeah,” I replied dryly.  “Guess I should give it a shot since I told you too, huh?”

A Weekend in Los Angeles

Skyler was the first person I met when I moved from big-city suburb outside of Houston to a shockingly small town south of Austin.   She was my neighbor.  She was the one that talked me into trying out for the volleyball team and then talked me into staying on the volleyball team once I made it.  *they never cut people…*

When we met, she and I were polar opposite.  She was endlessly confident and her personality was impossibly contagious.  I was shy.  Truly, I used to be incredibly quiet and so easily intimidated by just about anyone or anything.

She was brave. I was not. She spoke her mind. I didn’t dare. She loved the social hour of lunch. I ate in the locker-room.

To this day I remember when she told me, “I’m going to burst that little bubble you live in.  You need to loosen up and learn to have fun.”

Here’s another thing about Skyler– when she puts her mind to something, come hell or high water, she will do it.

And she did. She changed me, for the better.  And now all the things that made us different before, have now made us closer and more alike.

All this to say, I flew out to see her in LA this past weekend.  She a movie producer, make-up artist, and investment broker.  No lie.  She’s kind of a big deal.

So what did we do? We sat around and watched endless episodes of her favorite new sitcom, “Chuck.”  Because that’s what best friends do.  They sit around, doing nothing and not saying a word, and have a grand time.  And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Who can turn the world on with her smile?

Dear Abby…

Me & Abby... 2 girls from TX, living in CO. We still don't fit in.

 Meet Abby Steiger, the soon-to-be Abby Denestch.  We met a little over a year ago when we both moved to Colorado Springs on a whim to work at Compassion International. She’s from Texas. I’m from Texas. She didn’t know anyone. I didn’t know anyone. We became fast friends and then, roommates.

 Abby is unlike anyone I have ever met and I truly believe that our meeting and living together (for the longest & shortest 8 months of my life) was divine intervention. I know that’s a big statement, so I don’t use it lightly.  And as she embarks on a huge new and beautiful chapter in her life, I would like to take the opportunity to pay her a proper tribute of love and appreciation.

 

Abby lives out-loud a faith, fervency, and love for Christ that I haven’t heard in anyone else before.  Her faith is the kind that makes you wonder if you have any at all. It’s so big, so strong, so steady, and so openly raw and transparent that you can’t help but be inspired and encouraged.  She has a fearless faith. A true rarity.

Her fervency for the Word is a hunger, a desperation that doesn’t need dire circumstances in order to be initiated, and is an absolutely all-consuming necessity to her every breath. If this sounds exaggerated, I dare you to meet her and in less than 5 minutes she will undoubtedly quoted scripture to you, most likely without even knowing it. It is just a part of who she is; it is an uncontrollable overflow of her soul, which she bares unashamedly and without apology.

And as for her love for Christ, His universal church, His body of believers, and the life that He has called us to lead, Abby is on the front lines. She is the “William Wallace” of the faith crusade around the world.  Spiritually, she’s nine feet tall and can shoot lightning-bolts from her “ars.” (If you haven’t seen Braveheart, you won’t appreciate that).    I have never met someone who has such a living, breathing, burning desire to see the Great commission fulfilled; to see people from every tribe, nation, and tongue declare the name of the Lord.  And I have never met anyone who feels such a desperate need to be among them, living with them in utter poverty, so that she may love them with the richness of Christ.

More than all of these qualities, more than all these extraordinary ways that she has challenged me, encouraged me, and showed me the life that is there to be taken hold of, she has loved me with the love of God that is more gracious, more compassionate, and more beautiful than I thought it could be. Not because I don’t believe what I read in the Bible, but because I didn’t know how to accept it. I didn’t know how to receive the Lord’s love, nor did I know how to love myself.  But Abby showed me daily what that looked like, and I am truly forever changed.

So Abby, my precious friend, as you embark onto the fantastic chapter of marriage (to a really good-looking guy… way to go), know that I am so grateful to have met you and lived life with you. I owe the best year of my life to you. Because of you, I know the Lord in a way that I have been looking to find Him for so long. Because of you, I live and walk in a power and freedom that I never thought possible.

I love you Abby.