Dear Church, slow down for others...

My mind is crunching and my heart asking the Lord in what ways He is calling me to repent in order to return to my first love. Loving your neighbor can look like so many different things, and on Tuesday morning, I felt that love in such an amazing way, and I felt the Lord say, “Do it just like this.” Let me tell you the story…

            My friend and I went for a jog on Tuesday morning. Now, I am not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination, especially after I hurt my knee back in October. But my friend is an avid runner. This is the kind of person who wakes up and says, “Hey, I’m going to run a 10k just for fun and see how fast I can do it.” So, when my friend asked if we could run together, I established the fair warning that I would absolutely not be able to keep up. On the morning of the run, we were setting our smart watches to track the run, and my friend told me, “You set the direction, and you set the pace. I’ll be right next to you the whole time.” And I was like, “No way! My jog is like a brisk walk for you. Are you sure? Why don’t you do your lap, and I’ll do mine, and we’ll just meet up at the end?” And my friend was like, “No, I want to run with YOU!”

            Y’all. The entire run, this person who runs 10ks for fun, was adapting to my speed and cheering me on the whole time. Words of encouragement, words of affirmation, funny stories, and everything in between, and when we concluded our 5k, we celebrated. And as I was stretching afterwards, I could feel the Lord say to my soul:

This is how I want you to love your neighbor. Stay at their pace. Stay by their side. Encourage. Live life with them. Share the funny stories. Share the grief. Celebrate the victories. The way to love your neighbor is to run alongside them.

                So, church. Who is that person that we’ve left in the dust because they couldn’t keep up with our pace? Who’s the person that we’ve stopped encouraging? Who’s the person that we’ve stopped sharing in the joy and grief because it’s just SO MUCH EASIER to run alone than to have to slow down to keep up with them?

                I remember when I was younger, all I could think about was crossing the finish line into heaven with the most incredible stride and form. I could imagine myself being completely glowing and making it without a strain. Ha! Now, that mental image has totally changed. I don’t care how I look crossing that finish line…I just want to make it. And I want to make it a point to help as many people on the way as I can. Even if that means “slowing me down” just a little bit.

               A church in Brazil has this saying: “People matter more than walls.” So, what walls need to come down for us to let people know that they don’t just matter to God, but to us as well? Let’s go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus. Loving the world one person at a time and helping the world by helping the one that the Lord puts in front of us.

              Run the race with perseverance and don’t rush past the moments to run alongside the ones God is calling you to run with. Always eyes on Jesus. Eyes Heavenward.

For King and Kingdom,

Audrey