Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn." Thankfully God gives us the capacity to do both of those at the same time, because life seems to bring great joy and great tragedy all at the same time, doesn't it?
Yes, I was one of the hopeless romantics that set my alarm for 4:30AM to get up on Friday morning to watch the Royal Wedding. I know, I know.... I could've dvr'd it and watched it at a decent hour, but there was something cool about getting up and watching it LIVE while the rest of the world watched it at the same time. I heard something like 38 million people watched as William and Catherine became man and wife.
It wasn't just the "fairytale" of the wedding that drew me in. It was so much more. Life is about relationships. Not just between a man and woman, but more about community. What builds "community"? Shared experiences. That seems to be what bonds us. It can take complete strangers and give you common ground to develop a relationship that starts true friendships. The wedding was an opportunity for millions of strangers to "bond". It gave families a wholesome experience to to enjoy together. It brought joy into the day of so many people. It gave us hope. It embraced tradition. Joy, hope, tradition, love.... getting up at 4:30am to celebrate those things was well worth it to me!
On the flip side of things... watching all the devastation in Alabama from the deadly tornado outbreak was heartwrenching. Watching the tweets of friends, looking for missing loved ones... and then finding they had been lost forever was just horrible. Seeing the news reports of whole communities flattened was tragic. One year ago, Nashville was flooded beyond belief. Our town is still rebuilding and recovering. However, thankfully, the loss of life was nowhere near what happened in Alabama this week. Losing all your material possessions is hard, but losing your loved ones at the same time is just unfathomable.
These tragedies also build community. I saw it during our floods. Strangers jumping in to help strangers during their time of need is truly humanity at it's best. I'm so proud of my church, Crosspoint Community Church, here in Nashville. They had a group of volunteers heading down to the hardest hit parts of Alabama within 24 hrs of the tornado outbreak. Armed with rebuilding tools and a lotta love, they immediately headed out to help however they could. How I wished I could've jumped on board and made the trip with them, but this time I had to stay in town because of commitments I needed to honor here. We can't ALL do everything, but we CAN all do SOMETHING. Some go physically to help... some donate money towards the cause... some pray.... some spread the word... some organize the rebuilding and recovering missions. It takes it all. Pick one and do it! When we get involved on some level, it helps us all not feel so helpless in these situations. We aren't helpless. We CAN help.
I played the Bluebird last night with one of my favorite people, James Casto. If you aren't familiar with his music, do yourself a favor and check him out at www.jamescastomusic.com I also became a big fan of my two other ITR writers last night. Jesse Terry and Carole Ford. Two truly great musicians and amazing people! If they are playing a show in your area, GO!! You won't regret it. It was a night full of joy and inspiring music. Music is another thing that builds community. It brings strangers together to share a common experience. A common interest that bonds us.
When God made Adam, he saw that it was not good for man to be alone. So He made Eve. That was the beginning of "community".... Let's embrace one another. We all have faults. We all fall down. But we CAN get back up again with the help of our friends and family. Our community. Let's not spend time tearing one another down.... or squabbling over things that don't matter. Life it too short. Let's build each other up and watch as we all benefit from sharing the love.
Spread a little kindness... it sweetens the soul and strengthens the heart.
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