05 Sep Don’t Stop Meeting Together … Instead, Encourage Each Other

Indecently clothed from nursing, I hurried to unlock the door for my mom. “Hi, I’m so glad you’re here,” in that desperate tone of voice particular to moms trying to get out of the house. She had graciously offered to watch my “napping” son while I took Penny to the service council kickoff of my local mom’s Bible study. I handed her a screaming baby, hustled my three-year old into the car, and turned up our G.T. and the Halos album so that I could get a little Bible osmosis going for my cranky soul. I felt frazzled, tired, and immeasurably discouraged because it’s only day TWO of my husband’s TWELVE DAY trip. Yeah, you read that right, twelve days, seven of which are completely off the grid.

This trip is half business and half pleasure, and I don’t begrudge him a single day of it (OK, I’m trying really hard not to), but sheesh this morning was a struggle. I had two nights of bad sleep, which makes all the difference for me, an unusually whiny baby, and a demanding three-year old. Mama was cranky, no two ways about it.

I think I managed to get mascara on both eyes (Oh hey mascara, I remember you from May, the last day of preschool, pretty much the last time I went out in public), and I was wearing a dress that didn’t button down the front for nursing (small victories!). Aside from being 20 minutes late, things were going OK.

You know that feeling where you really want to be around people but you also don’t want anyone to talk to you? Like you wish you could wear your big sunglasses inside and sit down at a table and listen to everyone but be invisible in a not creepy way? It was one of those mornings. I didn’t want to answer a single, “How was your summer?” because even though our summer was great, at the moment, I just felt grumpy about everything.

I dropped Penny off in childcare (more screaming) and hightailed it upstairs to try to caffeinate my way out of the funk.

The announcements were sweet, reminding me of how much I love these women and this group. Our team leader played an awesome video about our theme for the year (we’re studying Ephesians). Of course, I teared up in the first 30 seconds (stupid mascara). As I sat there looking at the unbelievably dear faces of my team around the table, I felt my soul unwind and I took a deep breath. God bless coffee. God bless my mom. God bless women’s Bible studies.

Is there nothing a cup of coffee and a table of women who love Jesus can’t fix? I’m pretty sure they’re a panacea that will heal whatever’s wrong with us, snap us out of ourselves, and make that tricky silver lining shimmer in any situation.

In Hebrews 10:25, Paul reminds us that we need other people second only to our need for God. He admonishes, “Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other..”

Do not stop meeting together with other believers. You need it, they need it, we all need it. As we’ll be studying this year in Ephesians, God designed us for unity with himself and for unity with each other as the body of Christ. Quality time matters, even if it’s not your love language. When believers get together, we both glorify God and edify each other. We build up, teach, encourage, and help each other along on the race God has marked out for us.

Another cool thing that happens when believers meet together? You get to see the whole body of Christ in action. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about why each individual part of the body of Christ is necessary to make a complete whole.

 For the [human] body does not consist of one part, but of many [limbs and organs]. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body? If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” is it not on the contrary still a part of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole [body] were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?  But now [as things really are], God has placed and arranged the parts in the body, each one of them, just as He willed and saw fit [with the best balance of function].

I looked around the room this morning with each service team seated together-hospitality, meals, special events, speaker coordination, childcare, etc. I saw everyone working together in their unique giftings to serve the body of Christ and it was a thing of beauty. I don’t want to miss a single moment of this awesomeness.

Getting out of the house with children is terrible, I hardly ever do it, you can ask Amazon. But let me tell you, I will be doing everything in my power to make it out of the house each week to be with ladies who love Jesus. We need each other and belong together, it’s how God made us. (Anyone else humming Mariah Carey’s Baby Baby We Belong Together?).

Don’t give up the habit of meeting together with other believers-the body of Christ needs you and you need it.

Have a great week! If you’re connected with other believers, that’s fabulous! If you’re not, let’s get that booty back in business. Check out church groups or studies, form a weekly call if your close friends live in different places, or send me a note and I’d be happy to brainstorm with you.