The weight is heavy… hearts are broken, souls desperate. These are the burdens I carry. And release.
I hear their cry…it’s everywhere, really. All around us. You know. It’s probably in or around you too.
-A precious teen girl at church sharing her secret of battling an eating disorder…ending up in the hospital three times and counting.
-A beautiful friend with breast cancer who recently started her chemo.
-A beloved and devoted woman discovering her mother’s cancer has come back infiltrating her body, leaving her with weeks to live.
-A beloved young man who has a piece of my heart- lost to the mental illness.
-A dear friend who celebrated her first birthday alone, abandoned by her husband of 34 years.
-Another sweet sister realizing the sober reality of ending a marriage while on the runway of her career.
And there’s more.
So much more.
So I carry these burdens with me. Heavy on my heart…
And I pray.
Because I can’t heal them, comfort them or change them. I can’t do a damn thing but pray.
Why?
I am human. And when I can’t do what is not humanly possible, I must surrender it to God. I must.
Thrown deliberately into The Almighty’s open arms.
***
“So I noticed your blog has become religious. I thought you were writing about motherhood and things like that? Now it’s very religious. Is that your intention?”
“Well, I suppose it has grown into that… but I still write about other things.”
“No that’s fine, I just noticed it’s become very religious.”
“Well, I guess I am an inspirational writer and yes, it is faith based, but I don’t PUSH JESUS down anyone’s throats. I am just trying to give my readers hope and encouragement, really.”
Perhaps my blog has a become more of a sacred message. How on earth would we ever get through this life, without that intention? Maybe I am “religious” to some. But I pray I inspire hope, and all that evolves from that.
I find hope in God. Because quite frankly, there is little hope in this world. I can encourage and inspire with words of reassuring love and perhaps insight to help heal, change, and comfort others. But they don’t have the same Power without the breath of faith in something much bigger than ourselves.
When we lose hope, where do we find it?
It’s quite futile to address the human condition and lift it out of it’s own miserable state, to then bear it once again back on humanity’s inadequate ground. I’m certain it would just swirl around and continue to swell in more dark agonizing waters, creating waves of more pain while it loses its endurance. Words are beautiful weapons that help us endure the countless battles, yet faith is what allows us to believe in something that is far greater and higher than our hopeless humanity- where we find ourselves buried in the rubble.
I choose to offer the hope of Christ in a hopeless world. I suppose that is quite religious. But when I dare to dig deep and feel the burdens of others that surround me, it ignites an intense passion that sets fire to my faith.
If by chance, there is a stronger, mightier hope than that- I do apologize.
But I have yet to find one.
Amazing. I don’t find hope anywhere else and my heart breaks for those that don’t find it. You inspire and encourage so many…you can’t do that without knowing where that inspiration and encouragement comes from! It is the foundation of you and who you are! How could you be genuine if your faith is not only acknowledged but is the only reason why your heart reaches so big and deep for people? It does not come from you but from His power within you. Love you! Beautifully written sister.
Yes! It all comes FROM GOD- and I hope and pray people see His Evidence in every word.
Thank you sweet sister. I am SO grateful for you.
Chris, your encouragement and the selfless way you genuinely care for others is why people seek you out. Your blog and your friendship has been a blessing to me. Thank you, my friend.
Thank you so so much, my friend. God inspires it all… 🙂
Beautifully written. When your faith is in God, there will always be undertones and overtones of that faith in your writing. You cannot help it. It is who you are and part of your voice. I will say a prayer for you and the many opportunities for miracles and healing in the lives or those around you.
OH how I just LOVE that! You are SO right, my friend. Thank you for your sweet validation and encouragement… and most of all prayers!!
Beautifully put Chris. And, I dare say, I wouldn’t call you “religious” but rather “faith-filled and spiritual”. The word “religious” is so misused , so I want to more accurately portray who you are and what you offer to this hurting world. You offer hope – through your blog, through your words, through your actions, your interactions, your love, your LIFE! You have touched me countless times with the hope that you offer, the hope to which you point – Jesus. I love that you love Him, I love that you love others…I just love how you love and no one can know you and not know this love!
You are a beautiful jewel shimmering in a dark and dissatisfying world. Don’t lose that, okay? Promise?
Love you!
Mean it!
MUAH!
AW!!!!! I will promise if you promise TOO!! Because every single thing you shared here about me is absolutely true for you.
You blessed me HUGE with your precious words, WPB!! HUGE.
MWUAH!! (Tickle tickle, squeeze squeeze, pinch pinch) 😉
Amen! Keep on keeping on, sweet sister!
Oh sweet sister- I am SO glad God brought us together!! Thank you- your encouragement means the world to me… 🙂
I always try to find hope in God and even when I find it the most difficult of times I do my best to find this in him. So, I am once again with you on this Chris and always being so inspiring here in your little space 🙂
I love love love that you truly find Hope in God even EVEN in the most difficult of circumstances! Oh that is so so hard to do, isn’t it? It takes GREAT faith. And I love that you have that, my friend!!! XOXO
I’m not religious and I enjoy your blog very much. So…we can respect another’s faith while holding our own beliefs. We can also feel inspired by someone else’s intentions no matter what we believe. That’s what I believe in!
Beautifully said, Kathleen. I absolutely agree with that. And thank you so much for your sweet encouragement!!
So glad you stopped by to share it. Thank you!!
I appreciate that you openly share the source of true and lasting hope. When we talk about Jesus we inevitably will come across opposition, but that’s not a bad thing, considering how much opposition Jesus himself faced! I like to say if you’re not making people uncomfortable, then you’re probably not writing boldly and truly enough. All of that is to say, I appreciate you and what you’re doing in this space!
Oh, how I love your support Katie and I am SO glad we have connected!! What a blessing you are to me!
Sharing faith is a tricky thing. I tread the waters carefully, because my goal is to engage- open hearts- give His Light in such a way that people WANT to discover it for themselves. I believe that is truly the only way I would want to be approached… and still the way I truly believe to be the most profound bridge to His Grace.
Beautifully put. I am not ‘religious’ but I do believe in God, and I can tell you today reading many “religious” posts from Pour your heart out have definitely given me hope in this mess that I am in. Thank you!
THAT’S what God should be… HOPE. I think it is so unfortunate when people are exposed to God in such a light that they don’t feel worthy of Him, or worse- they will be punished with His Wrath or some nonsense. God wants our hearts… no matter how battered and bruised they are- He wants His Children- back where they belong. In His Arms.
I’m so glad you came by Brittney. 🙂
I don’t consider your blog “religious.” To me, that is the people who sit in church on Sunday and then proceed to judge others for the choices they make.
I think that you are a special woman with a faith like very few have and because of that people share things with you. They know that by trusting you with their burden that someone will be praying for them and lifting them up continually!!! What you have and what you share here is so much BETTER than religion!!!
Oh Kim!! Thank you thank you thank you so so so much for your precious words of encouragement!! I so strongly believe God has called me to this purpose… and as it continues to unfold, I feel His Mighty Hand on it all. I ache for the wounded… and I will never stop honoring each heart that is entrusted to me. So many. So many broken hearts in need of loving Grace. So many. So many broken souls in need of Hope. And not just mine, a loving Grace and Hope outside of this fallen world. I will always offer it. 🙂
I pray God continues to use my passion for His beautiful and powerful purpose. Always.
I think your blog has become more you the longer you have written. And yes, that means that there’s more focus on faith because that’s a huge part of your life. But I love reading what you have to say. You come across very real. I feel like I understand your faith and that you are understanding of others.
There was one time, in Bible Study, when the discussion went around to accepting tragedy and how we need to trust God. Everyone else in my group nodded and said something like “yes, yes, it’s God’s plan.” I spoke up and said “well, sometimes, I have a hard time accepting it. Sometimes I get mad at God. Like why is my child so sick and why won’t He heal him since He does have that in his power?” And you’d have thought that I had announced I love the devil. All I was doing was sharing how I felt, how God already knew how I felt, how I’m sure other Christians feel.
You come across not as one of those women from my class who would have looked at me like I was evil but like someone who would have put her arm around me, let me cry, and said that you understand, you don’t always understand, either.
And I think there needs to be more blogs like yours- where people can see someone live out their faith but not pretend to be perfect. There seem to be an abundance of those and they only turn off people who don’t believe.
Oh Shell! I would ABSOLUTELY would have done JUST that my friend!! Oh that fires me UP to know that people (and so many) don’t honor other people’s pain and hardships and weaknesses with sweet loving grace and encouragement. Who on earth DOESN’T have a hard time accepting horrible circumstances?? Ugh. I call those Christians robot believers- they deny the humanity in order to honor the faith. And I have such compassion for them at the same time- I simply can’t imagine living a life where I couldn’t fall and crumble and feel and allow my humanity to be heard and affirmed. I would be in a very dark place internally… because then, I wouldn’t be able to allow God’s Light in. How can we allow His Light in if we don’t open up those dark parts of who we are?
God sacrificed His Son to serve and embrace and save His precious children…WHILE we were sinners, Christ died for us. And God is deeply CRUSHED by our broken hearts and circumstances- it is NOT His Plan to hurt us – but to save us from the hurt.
Let me know when your next small group is- I’m coming. I got some things to say. 😉
Chris, your blog & your words are beautiful They bring hope to so many people. To me, your blog is not “religious” – it’s just you. And you are wonderful. Keep on doing what you’re doing my friend. You are a blessing to others and I am sad for those who don’t see that.
I think that conversation didn’t imply that my ‘intention’ isn’t useful or needed, but I think it spoke volumes to the significance of faith in our world- or lack thereof. There is this boundary that some simply can’t cross over…or choose not to address. There is a turning point for people- and my heart hurts that sometimes God is that powerful piece that many deny and turn away from.
So so beautifully said! Love “yet faith is what allows us to believe in something that is far greater and higher than the hopeless humanity”- perfect. And yes, I often wonder how I would make it, how I would really be without my faith, My faith is such a large part of me so if I am true to me and write with my true voice it definitely is going to come out in my writing, as otherwise I would just be hiding a big part of myself.
Thank you for your tremendously kind comment on my blog, it made my day and happy to be following you now too.
And YOUR comment made MY day, Emmy!! I am so so glad we are now connected! What a lovely God-send it is!
I love your point- it is SO true!! We can’t neglect or dismiss that part of who we are- and quite frankly, it is THE part we cherish most!! It MUST come forth in our writing. As much as we need our feet to walk, we need our God to lead. XOXO
Love you & this post, SSSF! I’m headed into BIG appt. Tomorrow. Keep praying, talk soon. XO. ~A~
I love you SSSF!! Keep holding on to His Hope!! I know you will. And I am so glad for that… XOXO
My darling, you could stamp your foot, hold out your arms and have the sun stand still in the sky, if it were the thing to do.
I am quite convinced.
Glad it’s infusing your writing. Isn’t that how it’s meant to be?
All love, Mustardseed.
(I give you no lines today. Hang onto those things and pray your heart out)
Mustard seeds are enough. They can move mountains if you let them. Even big mountains full of pain and doubt and questioning and giving up… Don’t lose sight that God’s Power is so beyond ours. And His vision and knowledge stretches so much farther than ours. His unknown is difficult to accept and trust…I know. Hold on to that mustardseed, love. <3
You know how I feel, Chris. I find your writing faith-filled, and that gives me hope and inspiration. I find your faith in God comforting and your words empowering. Be true to yourself – we love you for that!
Oh Dana! That was SO beautiful!! And you KNOW how grateful I am that you are here- as we share our faith-filled lives together and inspire one another as we go.
I just love us! Open hearts grow much deeper and reach much farther than closed hearts. We both have been blessed because of this truth.
You know what I love about you Chris, is that I never feel like you judge. You always say the right thing, you always understand. And that is what I feel like real faith looks like, not the judgey people who think poorly of someone because they don’t go to church or don’t do something the way they do.
I am SO glad you feel that way about me, Michelle!! Oh how I wish more Christians acted in this way… I fear they are missing the true meaning of Christianity’s mission. God’s mission- God’s purpose… to love ALL His Children. What you described is God. I am just the messenger!! 😉
There is no stronger hope – and what rewards you will one day have in heaven for sharing that hope through your everyday life and “religious” blog. ♥
Oh sweet sister- you encourage me so so much. You truly don’t know how much it means to me. Us? God-sent. (Praying still for you, my friend.)
It’s just..you. Religious or not. Whatever. It’s you. And it’s wonderful.
I feel so similarly – so many pains and illnesses and fears out there. So many. Not in my family, but everywhere, it seems.
Thanks so much Tamara… your precious words mean so much to me, especially coming from YOU. And yes- so much pain and so much fear- it weights heavily on my heart and I believe that’s why I am so passionate about sharing the only Hope I know that helps… XOXO
I love you heart and soul. You are pure, giving, selfless, inspiring, honest, and brave. You write whatever you want. I’ll always read it.
OH my GOSH how do I even receive such incredibly beautiful words!!!! Wow. I immediately want to to debate on each gorgeous characteristic you so eloquently describe, and yet that would be JUST what I am talking about eh? I will just soak it up and take it in… and be blessed by your amazing encouragement. I will choose to believe this. 🙂
Still wow.
My heart aches for all that are suffering. There’s so so many people that need your prayers, our prayers and kind words. Religious or not religious, your beautiful and inspirational words, posts help so much. Please keep them coming. I, for one, count on your inspirations to keep me going. Hugs and kisses my amazing friend. I love you and i never met you. One day:)
Your heart is just so beautiful Manal!!! I love you too- and yes, some day we will finally meet!! YOU my friend, are an inspiration to ME. XOXOXO
Hope…only one place that comes from..So ya- faith is the foundation of your sweet, encouraging words. Love to you (and sharing this over at our site http://www.facebook.com/1Corithians13Parenting )
I think my mission is just this- to lead people to this place of Hope. It’s astonishing how many don’t reach for it, and instead swirl around this world looking for answers and peace and justice in their life. It’s such a hard whirlpool to be pulled from, when you are submerged in the waters and can’t reach for His Hand. Many either can’t see it, or don’t trust it. It breaks my heart. It breaks God’s Heart.
I will steady my course, and continue my purpose.
You are one of the most genuine and caring people I know! And you have such a way of inspiring others. This blog is YOURS and it should be and grow into whatever your heart desires. Thanks for being you! 🙂
Okay- THAT was weird!!! My comment reply to you vanished and somehow I published yours in place of it! LOL
GAH!
Thank you SO much for your sweet encouragement Crystal. It really means the WORLD to me!!! Truly. 🙂
(I can’t help but gasp with a huge giggle when I read your post title next to your precious words!!! LOL)
{Melinda} Oh, it’s been far too long since I’ve been here, Christine. Still trying to get back in the groove and much is going on with my children.
I miss being here. You are so right — there is nothing this world can offer us. It’s all dust. I’m learning more and more that I have to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the only true Power I have to get through all of the junk of life. The stuff I don’t understand. The worries that I can’t seem to shake on my own. The big unknown of the future.
I hope you never stop being “religious” if that means sharing your heart for Jesus and offering the hope He brings. The only true hope we have for the future.
Beautiful post. <3
I miss you being here more than you could ever know, sweet friend. I am praying for you, and I know God is shaping and molding and perhaps even pushing and pulling you a bit to get there… You are worthy of His Craftsmanship- As He often tends to those who are ripe for the growth in a powerful way. He believes you can reach His Potential, my friend. You can believe that too.
Keep doing what you’re doing, Chris! You have a heart of gold!
Oh Kari- that means SO much to me. Thank you. Truly. 🙂
Chris! The lives you love and touch! God has truly given you a heart for the lost walking right in your own day-to-day and how you allow Him to use you blows me away. I love you, sweet friend. And I pray for you…
Oh you are such an incredible encouragement to me, Meredith!! Thank you so so much… for your love and support and your prayers!! XOXOXO
in a word, beautiful (and touching)! Love that you have the courage to be real in who you are. Love you!
Thanks so much love. I know how much it helps to have friends like you to encourage me and be my anchor in it all. SO grateful for you… <3
You have nothing to apologize for. Your blog is an extension of you. And you are constantly changing and evolving. What if you ate mac and cheese your entire life. How boring! If you’re blog stayed the exact same all of it’s life you and your readers would get bored w/ it. Blogging is OUR space in the blogosphere and we do with it what we will. It’s a reflection of what is going on in your life and you don’t have to answer to anyone about that. Keep up the good work. oxox