Before we dive into content, let me just tell you that Jen is not ashamed of her age! We used a video communication site to record her episode (go listen if you haven’t already) from our respective homes and the sound dropped out at the exact moment she said how old she is. For the record, Jen is 42 (at the time of the recording). I think it’s kind of hilarious that it worked out that way.
Anyway – on to what we actually discussed.
The Word of the Year idea is something I’ve been doing for a few years myself. Sometimes the word just comes to me and I know it before the new year starts. Other times, I take a lot of time to pray and ask God to show me what He wants me to focus on. If you haven’t ever tried that, you should!
I really love this meme Jen mentioned. God has been in the planning business for quite a while. He sure knows what He is doing! I love Jen’s reminder that we should look back from time to time and see where God has been working all along.
I’m starting to think I need multiple episodes for each person I talk to. We are just scratching the surface of some pretty deep topics.
I hope you all learned something new about PKD and how to pray for those with “invisible” health issues. I think we sometimes forget that we are fighting a spiritual battle that can include some physically battles as well. IF you want to know more about PKD or how to help, please see the show notes for a link to Jen’s favorite site.
The topic that got my brain churning the most in my conversation with Jen was her work in theater. Not so much the theater aspect (although its all really cool), but the part about being a Christian in an atmosphere that isn’t always hospitable to her beliefs.
Being in the world, but not of the world. That’s the tricky part.
Jen and I continued the conversation after the recording was complete. I asked her some pretty specific questions that have been causing my own soul to seek answers. When I was done asking “how do you reconcile…how do you balance…how do you discern…?” Jen’s answer was simple, but so true…
Marcus and I both ascribe to “love thy neighbor.”
Yup. It really can be as simple as that. We don’t have to have all the answers; we don’t have to pretend that there isn’t sin in the world; and we don’t have to decide which person is right and which person is wrong. We just need to choose love – just as Jesus chose love and chooses love and chooses us.
Of course I know that I’m over-simplifying some really sticky situations. It can be unbearably hard to know how to navigate a truly fallen world. But I also believe the first step is God. And God is love. And the greatest command is love. So love seems like it might be the right answer all the time.
Let’s try it. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must loveone another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love oneanother.” John 13:34-35
