Fragile

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Recently I've had a lot of opportunities to just sit back and observe people. Never before have I had the insight and vision that I have now.  I guess that's what experience does for you... When you go through things that expose your own areas of fragility it's a lot easier to recognize it in others. I always tell people there's a blessing in being quiet and this has been one of those times.  In the silent watching I've learned that people are a lot more fragile than they would ever have you know.

I had a long conversation with a friend that was really rather shocking. I knew this friend was going through a difficult patch but some of the things that were shared int he conversation really allowed me to peer a little bit deeper into their heart of hearts.  I saw a vulnerability that I had never seen before.  Here is a person that's proud, a fighter, hard worker, rarely asks anybody for anything and will do whatever to help out their family, friends, or someone in need.  That's the person I'd always known, but this particular day I saw someone who was struggling to save something they held dear while no one else seemed to see the beauty or importance of it.  I saw someone who had humbled themselves to take on a burden that was not their own.  Someone working to pay a debt that they did not create but was willing to pay because of the love for the one who did.  For the first time, I truly saw the God in this person and it was touching and beautiful.

  Jesus was all of these things that I saw in my friend that day and had I never caught them in a moment of vulnerability I may have never seen God in them like this.  It takes courage to expose yourself and be open.  Sometimes that's the hardest thing in the world to do, especially when you've experienced hurt or have trust issues.  We put up walls and pretend that we're ok while in our towers of imprisonment.  Meanwhile help is right there in front of us but we're adding more bricks and mortar to the castle walls just to keep of the appearance of being alright. I'm guilty of doing the same thing and I bet some of you are too.

Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of courage to let people know you've been with Jesus.  In Acts 4:13 John and Peter exhibited their boldness in a different way but it was what let the high priests know there was something different about these men.  They hadn't been educated, they weren't learned men, but their statements of faith let the high priests know that they'd been with Jesus.  Their actions on behalf of the lame man captured the Sadducee's attention and made them take a second look.

Sometimes we work so hard to hide our fragile places, we cover up the windows that allow others to see God in us. What have you been hiding that will allow others to see the God in you?  What light are you covering that keeps others from knowing you've been in God's presence?