I am notorious at home for being HORRIBLE at communicating. Before I left for the Race, my family joked around that I would get off the plane in December after spending a year on the field, my mom would ask “How was your year?!” and I would say, with very little emotion and a shoulder shrug, “Pretty good.”
At Training Camp they talked all about how important vulnerability is, and I may have rolled my eyes. At Launch, they talked more about vulnerability, and maybe (just maybe) I rolled my eyes again.
Getting me to talk has been like pulling teeth for my family. If you wanted to know something, you better go grab your shovel and start digging.
So imagine my parent’s surprise when they came to Thailand for a mini-mission trip with my World Race squad and all their parents, and I start crying while telling them my testimony in a Thai chicken restaurant the very first time I saw them.
The Lord had been preparing me to tell my parents all the things I have hidden from them since the beginning of the Race, and I was praying my lil heart out that He would let me tell them over video chat so I could just hangup afterwards and leave them to process it all by themselves. He didn’t do that.
But PRAISE that He made me awkwardly do it in person because it set the tone for the rest of my parent’s time with me in Thailand.
Vulnerability is so important. Really. Here’s why:
WHY VULNERRABILITY IS IMPORTANT
From someone who hates telling people things
- As a body of believers we are called to lovingly direct each other back to Jesus. But if no one knows what we are going through, no one knows that we need redirection and some good ole fashioned Jesus love.
- Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1&2
- Guys, when you are real with other people, more often than not, they get real with you too. And the opposite is true. When you’re fake with people, they’ll be fake with you. Authentically loving each other means being real with the things the Lord is doing, whether it is good or really gosh darn hard.
- It glorifies the Lord. By telling others what the Lord is doing in your life, He gets the glory for it. And you have the chance to share the power of the living and holy God with someone else. People can doubt theology, they can oppose religion but they cannot deny our testimonies.
The Lord has been working on my rock hard, awkward vault of a heart throughout the Race, and while vulnerability is still uncomfortable, and sometimes leaves you crying in a Thai restaurant, it is a beautiful part of having a relationship with the Lord and being a part of His Church.
