Bear One Another's Burdens
Not every day is an easy day.
I have loved this pre-launch season for Calvary 85. Plugging in to the community, putting together an overview of the Bible class for Life Group, but my favorite part has been participating in meetings with other pastors and church leaders. From Thursday morning Loaf/Elders meetings to the monthly hub meetings with other church planters in our association, it has been a blessing to come alongside many brothers who just love me well.
However, yesterday was different. As many of you know, Gracie and I have 2 under 2, and that means the kiddos get to come to a lot of meetings with me. This has never been an issue; in fact, I have loved the encouragement from others in bringing them with me on this journey of church planting, but yesterday was hard. I went down to Englewood for the monthly CFC pastor gathering, and just like the past few months, I had the kids with me - and I came prepared! Books, snacks, extra milk, blankets, extra diapers, everything that I could think of, I packed so that this meeting could be as smooth as possible. And 15 minutes into the meeting, JT starts to get frustrated.
This continued for the next hour. I put him down, he starts crying, I pick him up, he starts crying, I give him his drink, his snack, his toys, everything I tried to do just led to more frustration for both of us. I ended up spending the entire meeting in the back room, bouncing back in every 10 minutes to adjust Lila-Rae’s bottle, trying not to interrupt or distract the meeting. And then the meeting ends, we normally have lunch together, and JT is screaming. I hit my breaking point, I was embarrassed, frustrated, and holding back tears. I shake a couple of hands, apologize, and get out of there as quickly as possible.
But even before I got to my car, I had brothers checking in on me, sending me texts of encouragement. My dear friend, Pastor Josh, called and reminded me that not all days are easy. These are not the days that we cling to for motivation for tomorrow, but they are days that remind us just how much we need to lean on the Lord, and how blessed we are to live in a community of grace!
So this is my encouragement: not every day is easy, but on those hard days, lean into the body of believers God has placed around you. We are called to bear one another's burdens, and I am so glad that I have people who help me carry mine.
I have loved this pre-launch season for Calvary 85. Plugging in to the community, putting together an overview of the Bible class for Life Group, but my favorite part has been participating in meetings with other pastors and church leaders. From Thursday morning Loaf/Elders meetings to the monthly hub meetings with other church planters in our association, it has been a blessing to come alongside many brothers who just love me well.
However, yesterday was different. As many of you know, Gracie and I have 2 under 2, and that means the kiddos get to come to a lot of meetings with me. This has never been an issue; in fact, I have loved the encouragement from others in bringing them with me on this journey of church planting, but yesterday was hard. I went down to Englewood for the monthly CFC pastor gathering, and just like the past few months, I had the kids with me - and I came prepared! Books, snacks, extra milk, blankets, extra diapers, everything that I could think of, I packed so that this meeting could be as smooth as possible. And 15 minutes into the meeting, JT starts to get frustrated.
This continued for the next hour. I put him down, he starts crying, I pick him up, he starts crying, I give him his drink, his snack, his toys, everything I tried to do just led to more frustration for both of us. I ended up spending the entire meeting in the back room, bouncing back in every 10 minutes to adjust Lila-Rae’s bottle, trying not to interrupt or distract the meeting. And then the meeting ends, we normally have lunch together, and JT is screaming. I hit my breaking point, I was embarrassed, frustrated, and holding back tears. I shake a couple of hands, apologize, and get out of there as quickly as possible.
But even before I got to my car, I had brothers checking in on me, sending me texts of encouragement. My dear friend, Pastor Josh, called and reminded me that not all days are easy. These are not the days that we cling to for motivation for tomorrow, but they are days that remind us just how much we need to lean on the Lord, and how blessed we are to live in a community of grace!
So this is my encouragement: not every day is easy, but on those hard days, lean into the body of believers God has placed around you. We are called to bear one another's burdens, and I am so glad that I have people who help me carry mine.
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