"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23)
(Katie) First, a snap shot, as it is the common way our Senior Staff in Fischer describes moments of revelation from our life in a reasonable amount of time...
A couple weeks ago, Ann and Michael, an incredible couple from our church, invited James and I over for dinner. A double date over dinner is a common experience among people our age. However, praying for and blessing each other's marriage after dinner is not so commonplace. After dinner, Ann and Michael spent 20 minutes praying over James and I individually, and then together as a couple. To have another couple who I had recently met pray so fervently for the deep desires that God has put on James and my heart for our marriage, for the vision of our ministry together, and for the specific season we are in was so refreshing, and quite honestly I didn't know how to receive it. Ann and Michael are so confident in their identity in Christ that they could genuinely celebrate all that God has done and is doing through James and I in this sweet season of rest and seeing the fruit of our labor. Their love for Jesus is so secure that there was no room for envy, jealousy, or bitterness. As I was being prayed over, one of them shared a vision of me that illustrated the deep sense of freedom I felt, being in the presence of God with my husband and a sister and brother in Christ, being able to fully be who I am in Christ with no shame, guilt, or fear of what others thought of me. As James and I drove home that night, we both praised God for incredible friends and how God ministers through them AND how sad it is that we have rarely experienced that with couples our age.
A couple weeks ago, Ann and Michael, an incredible couple from our church, invited James and I over for dinner. A double date over dinner is a common experience among people our age. However, praying for and blessing each other's marriage after dinner is not so commonplace. After dinner, Ann and Michael spent 20 minutes praying over James and I individually, and then together as a couple. To have another couple who I had recently met pray so fervently for the deep desires that God has put on James and my heart for our marriage, for the vision of our ministry together, and for the specific season we are in was so refreshing, and quite honestly I didn't know how to receive it. Ann and Michael are so confident in their identity in Christ that they could genuinely celebrate all that God has done and is doing through James and I in this sweet season of rest and seeing the fruit of our labor. Their love for Jesus is so secure that there was no room for envy, jealousy, or bitterness. As I was being prayed over, one of them shared a vision of me that illustrated the deep sense of freedom I felt, being in the presence of God with my husband and a sister and brother in Christ, being able to fully be who I am in Christ with no shame, guilt, or fear of what others thought of me. As James and I drove home that night, we both praised God for incredible friends and how God ministers through them AND how sad it is that we have rarely experienced that with couples our age.
I've always read the verse above from Proverbs in the context of a potential dating relationship. This Sunday at church, Jonathan implored us about the importance of covenant friendship and really guarding who we give our hearts to in friendship. The sad reality is that it is a rare thing to find friends, even more rarer to find a couple, that can genuinely rejoice with you for all that God is doing in and through you and mourn with you, entering into your pain during the hard seasons. The depths of our hearts must be guarded and out love for Jesus isn't an excuse for us to "throw our pearls" to people who are less secure and unable to treasure them.
I am inspired by Ann and Michael. James and I really value prayer and building others up in the Lord. To see another couple radically live that out....to be blessed by their prayers....that is the kind of kingdom people we want to be. In this season, we are learning to redefine our understanding of friendship... the importance of mutuality and being equally yolked in the Lord with those that we journey deeply with and enter into covenant with. To develop discernment as to when we guard our hearts and when we let the walls down.
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