Together Archives - Page 6 of 8

February 8, 2013 by Karin 2 Comments

The Secret About Secrets

Secrets.

I’ve had secrets.

Have you ever had a secret?

The surest way to lose your mind is to keep a secret.

I’ve never told anyone else this…

Her eyes trembling tears.

I am so ashamed.

What I can see now… the worst thing about a secret, is not the secret itself.
The worst thing about a secret is… secrecy.

This burden of taking it on… all alone.

Now I’m not talking about sharing your every woe with every soul that passes through.
I’m not talking about divulging a confidence that is meant to relieve burden from another.
I’m not talking about airing every piece of dirty laundry to anyone close enough to get a whiff.

I am talking about the kind of secret that sneaks into the soul and boroughs itself into the dark recesses of the heart.

The kind of secret that whispers…

No one will understand.

No one else has done this.

No one will love you… if you tell.

The kind of secret that snarls…

You should be ashamed.

This secrecy is the snarling wolf that circles the unsuspecting sheep.

It circles its distracted prey… growling lies.

You have nowhere to go.

You won’t get away from this one.

You are alone.

The secret devours… and it lies.

Our enemy lies. He circles and circles, crouching low. Hissing lies.

Until we stop.

Have you ever been in this corner? Have you ever found yourself in this corner, shivering and trembling… and wondering,

How did I get here?

I’ve had these kind of secrets. The stress of them pains the stomach and numbs the heart.

We whisper to ourselves…

I can work this out.

I can put it out of my mind.

I can get past this.

And. We. Can’t.

Not alone.

Can I just tell you that you are not alone? The snarling wolf has no power over you. The secret is not as horrible as the secrecy.

There is nothing that shocks God.

There are no surprises to Divine ears.

There is nothing… nothing that can separate us from Him… unless we let it.

Tell Him your secret.

Here’s the other thing.

Tell someone else.

We are here together for a reason. We are not made to be islands. We all have secrets. We so often have the same secrets. We just don’t know it.

Until we tell.

When we tell… the secrecy vanishes. Just. Like. That.

The problems may not be gone. The pain may not be over. The journey may just be beginning.

The secret is gone. It’s not a secret anymore.

Tell someone. Take the power away from the secret. Give it back to God.

The truth will set you free.

2 Corinthians 4:2

Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

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January 25, 2013 by Karin 4 Comments

It’s Not My Problem… Or Is It?

It’s not my problem.

How many times have I heard that phrase or thought those words? How many times have I muttered,

It’s not my problem.

We are inundated every week… sometimes every day… with problems, problems, problems.

We face problems of our spouses, our kids, our friends, our parents, our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, our neighbors’ brothers and sisters, our kids’ friends, our parents’ kids (oh, that’s us… yes we have our own problems, too!), our friends’ spouses and kids, and on and on and on. You get the picture. Problems are all around us, all of the time. Never mind problems facing our country, other countries… our world. It becomes very easy, and much less painful, to say…

It’s not my problem.

My oldest walks in, fuming, following an interaction with a friend. He burns with a young temper, blurred eyes, and heavy heart. He tells of the woes of another. Angry, he spouts,

It’s not my problem!

A friend on the phone. Frustrated, angry, bone weary from burdens.

It’s not my problem.

Our minds at times are drenched with woes, heartache, worries, fears… just plain pain.

It’s not my problem.

Or, is it?

When one part of a body aches, suffers, or fails ~ does the rest of the body whisper,

It’s not my problem.

When a clot forms, an artery is blocked, a vessel bursts ~ does the brain insist,

It’s not my problem.

When the left half of the heart fails, congestion of the veins in the lungs cause fluid to build ~ do the lungs scream,

It’s not my problem.

What about a member of His body? This body here on Earth walking through disaster, desperation, depression, denial, death. What do we say to the maimed and wounded parts of His body?

It’s not my problem.

Or is it?

I came across wise words…

Christians are Christ’s body, the organism through which He works. Every addition to that body enables Him to do more. If you want to help those outside you must add your own little cell to the body of Christ who alone can help them. Cutting off a man’s fingers would be an odd way of getting him to do more work.

CS Lewis

Maybe it is our problem. No maybe about it. It is our problem.

To strengthen our body… His body… we must add ourselves to it. In service. In support. In sacrifice.

A listening ear often gives the wound… and the wounded… time to heal. We bind ourselves together, sometimes even when we don’t really want to, we bind together to heal the break. Allowing Him to heal the break into a renewed strength.

My little one, eyes searching mine with worry,

Maybe we can help?

Shouldn’t we help?

We would want help.

Yes, we can. Yes, we should. Yes, we would… we would want someone to see us, hear us, help us.

We need others, even when it’s not their problem. Or is it?

Proverbs 24:10-12

If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

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October 23, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

You Are Not Alone (#23)

PROMISE #23 ~ WE ARE NOT ALONE

When you are feeling alone…

Haven’t you felt like, no matter how hard you try, no matter how fervently you seek truth, no matter how heartfelt your desire for peace… you are alone.

Have you wondered where your back up is?

Have you perhaps even wondered… where God is?

I have. I’m not proud of that. But, it’s the truth.

Just when things get a little dicey. A little bit uncomfortable.

Just when things don’t fit well, or work out just right.

I want instant gratification.

An immediate God nod.

Ridiculous, I know. But, true.

When peace eludes your life, your family, your heart. Do you think… where are You? Why aren’t You fixing this… faster?

What to do when you have been wronged?

I puzzled over this. I knew there had to be an answer for this. Somewhere in there.

My natural inclination is to throw spears, take stabs, slash with a brutal tongue. This doesn’t sit very well. In my searching, I realize it is not meant to sit well. It isn’t meant to sit at all. We bind ourselves up with messy, misshapen bandages in this attempt to soothe our own wounded hearts.

The self-made bandages are not meant to hold. They are meant to be loose. Set free for the healing… by the only Healer.

The alone thing… we are not meant to face these battles of truth alone. We are instructed to arm ourselves with brothers… or sisters…

… ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

(Matthew 18:16)

So, sigh of great relief, we do not have to go this alone. We are meant to bring our wounds, our strife, our woes… to Him. Not alone… but, with another.

And, just when we think we are alone… we are not. He is here.

Healing in His time… expecting our obedience, and patience… in the process.

He makes a promise to us in this place of questioning, wondering, hurting…

We are not alone.

PROMISE #23 ~ God promises He is with us when two, or three, come together in His name.

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

October 22, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

Sow and Reap ~ a good harvest

PROMISE #22 ~ REAPING A HARVEST

It can be heavy sometimes.

This life we live.

Sometimes, the weight on our shoulders feels enough to crush us through the very earth on which we stand. We can barely hold our shaking legs upright.

Sometimes, we feel as though no one notices the hole crumbling deeper and deeper beneath our weight.

Sometimes, our knees give way and we fall crashing to the ground.

Sometimes, the weight on our shoulders is suddenly eased through the hands of one standing beside us.

Sometimes, just a finger’s touch on the heart, a word gently spoken, is enough to ease the weariness in our lives.

He told us it would be hard.

Some days are going to be hard.

Sometimes, the days become weeks, months, even years.

He tells us this will happen.

He has a plan. He has a promise. We have a part in this.

He spells it out for us…

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Now the thing about this is… that while we carry each other’s burdens…

He carries us.

PROMISE #22 ~ God promises us that we will reap a harvest if we do good and do not give up.

Galatians 6:9-10

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

October 19, 2012 by Karin Leave a Comment

She said so… (#19)

PROMISE #19 ~ HOPE

Hey girl.

Her sweet southern-ness flowed through the line.

It was dinnertime… one of those dinner times that everyone was actually sitting down. All six squirmy kids and two weary wardens.

I got your book.

I glanced at my husband and whispered her name. He nodded, touching my arm…

Go, talk to her.

I slid onto the corner chair, this attempt to hide from the sadness. My voice instantly took on the familiar cadence of what seemed a lifetime ago. The tune of the south rolling from my lips came easily as I talked with my dear friend.

Have you had a chance to look at it? It’s really great… it really makes me hopeful… gets me almost excited. You know, for when… well, someday.

I had sent her Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven. I poured through it the year before. I don’t remember exactly what brought me to reading it, but through the rearview… the time was closer than it appeared.

I haven’t read it yet, but my honey has already picked it up. He loves it. I’m going to read it as soon as I get a chance.

We talked a while. At first, about all things normal. Kids. Husbands. The used-to-be’s. The remember-when’s. We laughed. We had always laughed… the kind that grips your side and makes you think life will always feel this good.

We talked about God. The past couple of years… the years she wore pink and fought hard… these years we talked about Him more than anything else. Funny, in 20 years, we had never really talked about Him at all. Now, His name would not stay long from our lips.

I just want you to know…

She choked the words, this woman who defined strength and emotional control (except for when she fought with her dear sister, every bit as southern and stubborn as she).

I just want you to know… you’ve been a great friend to me.

My brimming tears broke their barrier and flowed.

You’ve always been there for me, supported me, even though we have lived far apart. I just want you to know, I am grateful for you. For your friendship. I love you.

My own words caught in my throat. This, the woman I had known half of her life… the one who split my sides with humor… the one who had been my cohort in the madness of twenty-something. She just wasn’t one to spill her verbal love out, so seriously.

I knew. I knew what it meant.

I saw her a few more times. I saw the illness take her strength. Her eyes never lost their sparkle. In fact, towards the end… I saw a very new light in them.

She never did read the book Heaven. She went to see it first hand.

I picked up my pen (rather, my keyboard) again, after she went. The plan was not to write of sadness, but of hope. Of friendship. Of the travels with fellow sojourners. Sisters of the faith. This faith that came to meet me in my adulthood… the faith that had been barely visible in my youth.

I think about my girl every day. The site of a bird, the wings of a dragonfly… they were her favorite… mostly I remember her words.

The thing I have learned, Karin, the thing I know now… He is always here. No matter how bad the news is… it will always be ok. No matter when the hope I have is dashed with more bad news… it will always be ok. Even when I die… it will always be ok.

I am a writer of words. I watch my life through the words I write. I re-live the moments and sort them like my 10 baskets of laundry. I see Him in the details. The detail of every word, of every community, of every friendship. All for His glory. It will always be ok.

She said so.

He says so.

PROMISE #19 ~ God promises us hope.

Hebrews 10:22-24

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

The Secret About Secrets

It’s Not My Problem… Or Is It?

You Are Not Alone (#23)

Sow and Reap ~ a good harvest

She said so… (#19)

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