There's nothing better than the warmth and comfort of a soft fuzzy blanket on a cold night. You can't wait to pull it up high under your chin and tuck it all around you so no cold air can get to you. Well this morning as I felt the cool air in my room hit the back of my leg I realized a few things...
1. when you're outside the covering you get hit with the sneak attack
2. sometimes when you leave, it's hard to get back underneath like you were because you're so tangled up
3.when it's really bad you have to stop everything and focus on that task for a while until you get it right
4. sometimes you have to change positions to get it right
I hope y'all are with me in the spirit... you can look at this a couple ways..Look at that warm fuzzy blanket as God's covering... sometimes we get out of His will, and way without even realizing it until we get hit with a sneak attack. Then we feel just like that cold foot that's hanging out from under the blanket... we toss and turn and struggle to get it back under the covers without losing our comfy position...that's when the WHOLE blanket gets twisted and mangled and wrapped around you like a vice. So what happens... we get frustrated in our situation, a mess that we created and get mad at God. We do everything we can to try and get back to where we once were, but God has moved to a new place...Then ya gotta wake up completely and refocus, to figure out where the root of the mess is, find it, and straighten it out. Nine times out of ten, ya gotta sit up in the bed and completely remake it to get the cover back on you right...
The second way to look at this whole idea of the warm fuzzy blanket is what really hit me first. The covering of a spouse/friend/parent/leader. Depending on the relationship the covering looks a little different. It hit me from the point of spouse.. I'm not married but I do have a boyfriend and our steps are headed towards marriage so we are working to build our relationship with certain Biblical foundations already in place before marriage. Covering and submission is one of them. I won't get too much into submission in this post but it's all about trusting someone enough to have your best interest at heart, being able to lean on them for protection in weak areas/moments, and trusting that you can follow them as they follow Christ.
To that end, I realized that as a covering, my blanket looked a little raggedy. I should be praying more, be more understanding, more compassionate...Don't get me wrong, I'm not comparing myself to Jesus. I KNOW I couldn't have endured what He did for us. No way... But this is the thing.. when you're in a relationship (any kind) at some point or another you should be able to cover the other person..Let me clarify when I say cover because I don't mean cover up mess. Absolutely not! If we see our spouse/loved one/friend in a bad place, in sin, or on the way to sin... we should be able to offer them a hand and the same grace, mercy, and love that Christ offers us. Instead of telling their business, gossiping, putting them down, judging or omitting them from our prayers we need to do just the opposite...
This is the time to show them they can confide in you, to be understanding and compassionate, to pray even more, to fast, to sacrifice for that person. The beauty is, you may not even have to say anything to them verbally (a lot of times God won't let you anyway), but you can work behind the scenes on their behalf. Mark 2:1-12 tells a story of a man who was made whole because of the faith of his friends. The Bible says when Jesus saw THEIR faith, he forgave the paralytic's sins... FIRST!, Then He healed him. It doesn't do any good to heal a natural body when someone's soul is headed straight to hell.
We often have these same opportunities to show grace, mercy, and compassion to those we encounter. You never know what difference you can make in a person's life. I got a text message from my boyfriend one day while he was at FCA camp with his football team. It simply said "Coach Champagne & the VA Tigers @ FCA camp, all possible because you reminded me of the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ... Thank you so much for changing my life." That message was better than a thousand I love you's. Why? Because it let me know that he sees the God in me, that I love him with the love of Christ, and that what I say and do in front of him has not gone unnoticed. I have loved this man for eleven years.. prayed for him, fasted for him, been mad at him, stopped speaking to him (in my mind anyway lol), separated myself from him, given him unconditional love even when it hurt sometimes, been an ear in his time of need, challenged his character, challenged him to live at the level that I know God called him to, and as the Lord led... gave him words of encouragement. I'm not saying I've been perfect, but I have been consistent. I never gave up on him, never turned my back on him, never talked down to him or about him, never changed the way I showed my love for him (even when it hurt), and never expected him to be something or someone he wasn't.... Sometimes its the example that you set that will win someone to Christ or give them a desire to come back.
Most of what you read, I had no idea it was going on... God had to give me hindsight and make it plain for me. Some of it he just flat out told me because I hadn't even realized that's what had been going on... but needless to say...I consistently Covered him, as a friend, as a believer, and now as a girlfriend.. I consistently SHOWED him the love of Christ and shared the word with him as I was learning and growing. When I finally realized and God showed me a bigger picture of what was happening I was so humbled and so blessed to even play a part in someone's journey.. it moves me to tears just to see God's transformative powers at work. He's so awesome!
Sometimes God puts us in position to be the example for someone else, even in the midst of figuring out our own walk. He doesn't expect us to be perfect...just to allow Him to work perfectly in and for us. Don't discount or disqualify yourself because you don't have it all together. None of us do. Only God can use an imperfect person to carry out a perfect plan.... you still have something to offer even if it's simply showing the humanity in striving to live for Christ. Be encouraged and remember to be a warm fuzzy for someone else this week....
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