Soul Kitchen

Sometimes the wounds are as fresh as when it just happened. Other days it seems like a long time ago. I've been hurt by a woman who I called my friend. She said such nasty things to me in a moment where I needed her the most, a time where I leaned on her strength. I confided in her and trusted it was kept in confidence. The thing I came to know later is that all other people's information was being shared with me and never did it cross my mind that my "junk" was being shared and spread around church. In a time where my husband and I needed our caregroup to surround us and pray for our marriage and the postpardum depression I was going through, is when everyone pulled back and people at church would find ways to avoid us. We were judged based on rumors and it was a very painful time for our family to have our lives exposed and confidence broken.

Jesus knows what it means to be hurt, spat at, criticized, judged, and alone. If you look at his geneology you'll see that he didn't come from a perfect line of heritage but that God used people with broken lives filled with horrible sins to bring the Saviour into this world. We all have a history and our families have a history. Jesus understands all of it.

Jesus knows my pain. He knows my fears of becoming friends in a new community and getting plugged into a new church. For the past couple years we've attended a bigger church and it wasn't as important to get plugged in as we could sit comfortably in church, be fed, participate in worship. We grew so much in that time soaking in on God's truths. It was a safe place for our family to go... where we didn't need to meet people but could slip in and out each week without the major socialization. We had a handful of people that we would talk to every Sunday.

Now I'm in a different season in life. I'm in a small town. Small church. Close-knit community where everyone has their friends and family and here we come. I have to step out of my comfort zone when people come to talk to me at church. It's scary. What comforts me is that Jesus knows and feels all my pain and fears with me. He is the best friend I will ever have!

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.~ Proverbs 18:24

Many of you are walking a road where you feel alone too. You might have been hurt like I was and are in a similar place that I am. You might have been the person who walked away from someone when they needed you the most. I want to encourage you in this Christmas season and every day to trust Jesus with your heart. 1 Peter 5:7 says to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Jesus does care and understand. Let Him stand in the gap for you and be your shoulder when you need someone. He will never leave you or abandon you in your times of need. He is with you ALWAYS!

God bless you today.