This Joyful, Messy Life

Love Others

— Jesus.

This past Sunday, as we celebrated music and the life and unity and emotion it brings to our lives, I had a thought.

A lot of the songs we sing in church talk about God’s love for us. These lyrics to Reckless Love by Cory Asbury are so beautiful:

” Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me

There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me “

These are beautiful, true, and wonderful words. But the whole time we were singing, I was crying. I KNOW God loves me this much; I know it deep in my bones. I know God would do anything for me to live the life God has envisioned for me, to live in a relationship with God, my Creator. I was crying because I know that God also loves the children currently caged up at the border this much. God loves the Hispanic people were shot in Walmart this past weekend for the offense of being brown this much. I know that God loves the approx 128 Black, Transgender women that have been murdered in the US since 2013 this much. And, most difficult of all, I know God also somehow loves the ones holding the guns just as much.

I think God’s biggest miracle is God’s ability to keep loving humanity, even when we break God’s heart every day. I believe that God grieves with us when these things happen. God has a much better, more expansive, more inclusive, more joyful and loving vision for humanity than the life we are currently living.

It’s good for us to know, individually, that God loves us. That’s necessary and important, and a lot of people have a hard time truly believing that for a variety of ugly reasons. It is true though: God, the Creator of the Universe, loves YOU. It is also true that God, the Creator of the Universe, loves everyone you can’t stand.

If we can start looking at EVERYONE through God’s eyes, and seeing each person as a beloved (however lost and hurting) child of God, then maybe, just maybe, we can all be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little more forgiving and slow to anger, a little more loving. We don’t have to like people to love them. Or agree with them. Or
support their lifestyle. However, it is our sacred duty and calling, if you identify as Christian, to love. It is the #1 commandment, the entire Bible as summed up by Jesus:

“‘So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”

There is enough love to go around. It is an unlimited resource. And the more we practice and extend love, the more it actually grows and comes back to us exponentially. Christians, let us rest deeply in the knowledge of our worth and value in Christ, that just as we are, we are DEEPLY and PROFOUNDLY seen and known and loved. And let us then MOVE ON and spread that love around extravagantly and joyous and unconditionally.

Welcome to my blog!

A quick intro: I am a midwestern expat, living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with my husband and two young kids. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs with loving parents and a younger brother. I attended a Christian K-8 private school, and then the local public high school. I was an active member of my church’s youth group, and was involved in lots of different sports. My favorite memories of my childhood are the many camping trips we took in our pop-up, and of youth group retreats and mass sleepovers, and of the general mischief I would get into with my friends. Nothing serious, but street signs were stolen 😉

I moved on to attend Marquette University for my undergrad and graduate school years in their Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. I LOVED my time at Marquette. The Jesuits got under my skin with their strongly held values of social justice and volunteerism. I learned about the world at large and my small role in it as a privileged American. I got to spend a semester abroad at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. That time exploded my world view even more, as I was exposed to friends from nearly every continent and of a wide diversity of religious and social backgrounds.

After graduating with my DPT, I moved West with two friends of mine for the sheer adventure of it. We practically threw a dart at the map and chose Spokane, WA. It’s been 9 years and I never plan to leave! I met my husband, Dan, a few months after moving here. We got married in 2012 and have been faithful attendees of New Community church. We enjoy annual camping trips to Priest Lake, and we try to get out and adventure in the PNW playground as much as possible. Our pace has recently slowed as we are in the rhythm of life with a 2 1/2 yr old and 9-month baby.

There have been a lot of things going on lately, personally and in the culture at large. It can be overwhelming to think about everything at once, so I wanted to get words on paper as a way to help process life. I usually like to journal, but honestly I haven’t been great about making time for that lately. I think having a blog, even if no one ever reads it, will be a way to hold myself accountable to actually make the time to think things through.

There is power in our stories. It may seem like our voices don’t matter, but stories do have a way of moving us and inspiring us and challenging us to grow. Perhaps my stories will inspire even one person to seek out love and joy and live a life closer to the dream that God has for us.