Rocks in the Pocket

Today we all went to Chelsea's house (Shelty's dog house). It was bittersweet in that Shelty was leaving the Bay and moving back to Nebraska but Bethany was coming home from Haiti and Allison, Shelty's roommate from last year, just got engaged.

We had a grand ole time playing hand and foot, the new game Keener taught us, making cookie dough, taking fun pictures, and playing nertz. The best part of the night for me was when we had a much needed Jesus time.

     We talked about carrying the burdens of one another. We read Mark 2, the story of how Jesus heals the paralytic. The four friends had so much faith and love for their paralyzed friend that they carried him to Jesus, dug a hole into the roof, and lowered him down.Verse 5 says "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." The obvious hero in this passage is our course Jesus who has power to forgive sins as well as to heal people, that's why He's God. But taking a closer look, it was when Jesus saw the faith of the friends that healed the paralytic. They cared so much for their friend that they literally carried him to Jesus. These friends were probably the ones who took care of their friend - feeding, changing, and tending to his daily needs.

     We each took small rocks and wrote our initials on them. Going around in a circle, we each shared something that has been a burden on us this summer or an anxiety for the coming year- represented by the rock. We then threw our burdens into a pile and picked up the burden of another. We then spent a good amount of time in prayer. What a blessing it is to talk to our Father that like in the midst of my closest friends. I am going to try to remember to keep my rock in my pocket for at least the next week. Every time I feel it, I will pray for my person and it's also a reminder that I am being prayed for, which is definitely encouraging. We could all use it. 

Blessing of the day: that I have friends who are broken like me and help me carry my burdens.