Picture being 26 years old and a mother to 28 children.
28 children who have been surrendered.
28 children without a mother and father, they are your life.
24 hours a day you are their mother.
You carry their burdens with you, you feel the weight of their situation, you cry out to the Lord just to make it through the day. His life and strength is what gets you through the day. You literally worship the Lord all day with music always in your ears.
It takes strength and faith that is beyond measure.
It takes courage.
It takes the Lord and the Lord alone.
This is what I see every day. A 26 year old woman caring for orphans here in the Philippines. Caring with a team of people, but feeling the weight of each child. She loves with all of her heart, but who loves her? Where is her community?
This year I have been incredibly blessed with community. I live with 5 women who love, challenge, and speak into me and I into them. This month I live with 22 women and 9 men and am pressing deeper into community. And as I go deeper into my community and experience the Lord more and more through it, my heart feels burdened for community for others.
How do people live alone?
How do they carry their struggles in silence?
I once did. I once cared so much about my image that I was afraid to share a struggle, a tear, a wound, but God is redeeming this area of my life. Sharing my struggles and life with others brings FREEDOM, it brings deliverance. Every night this month I pray with a sister here. We share our victories from the day and we share our stumbles. We share our obstacles and the area of our life we have kept secret for so long in fear of judgment. And then we lift it all up to our God. We end the day thanking God for who He is. Thanking Him and rejoicing for all that He has given. We cry out for MORE of Him. We want to go deeper, we never want to stop.
But we can’t go deeper if we hold on to our secrets.
They must come out.
“If we claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” 1 John 1:6
The truth is we have been set FREE. We don't need to hold on to our secrets anymore. We are CO-HEIRS with Christ. We are SONS/DAUGHTERS of the God Almighty.
The truth is when we CHOOSE to live in truth and live in LIGHT, we can have true community with one another and live FREE and purified. (1 John 1:7)
So LET GO.
Let go of your pride. Of your insecurity or false humility. Let go of the fear of man.
(Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10)
LET GO and share with your community. Let the light shine in on those dark areas of your life you have held on to for years – maybe even since childhood. It’s hard but it brings LIFE and LIGHT into your life. The pain and failure can’t taunt you anymore…but it’s your CHOICE.
Will you live alone?
Will you live in silence?
I won’t any more.
