Well, this little lady is now a MRS. and has been busy getting settled in her new home in Atlanta. The wedding was August 30th and we set two weeks aside for our honeymoon. Thank you all for your well wishes and for your prayers! I’ll be keeping you updated as to new concerts, etc. as they come up. We are still hoping to finish the new CD in the near future!
Below is something that has been on my mind this week. Hope it speaks to you.
Cheers!
Stephanie
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Journal: Getting Dirty
Last night I watched a drunken man make an idiot of himself and then begin screaming at and threatening a young woman who was in his company. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, and part of me just wanted to get as far away from the situation as possible. And that “part of me” made me think…
When we encounter the “unlovely” our first inclination is usually to look/turn away. We know unpleasant things happen, and people have serious problems, but we’d rather not think about it or put ourselves in situations where we might be affected.
When I was washing my car one day I noticed that in my attempt remove the dirt and grime that had accumulated, I was actually getting a little dirty. It was inevitable. If I wanted the car to be clean, I had to be willing to get my hands and feet a little dirty (and wet).
If we want to make a difference in the lives of people we can’t be afraid of their “grime.” If we really believe that God is love and that His whole mission is to breathe new life into humanity, we shouldn’t be afraid of being negatively affected by the “sickness” and even sometimes depravity that we encounter in this world.
Jesus didn’t hide from the unlovely. He did the exact opposite. He spent time with those who most people avoided; he wasn’t afraid to talk to the socially “unacceptable” or to touch the sick. Why? Because He knew the power of the One who lived inside of Him. He knew that His Father had the power to bring light and to breathe life into even the most hopeless situations.
If we are attempting to follow in the footsteps of our Master we need to have the same attitude: one of trust. His presence in us will give us the strength to remain in the world as “lights.” (I’ve had a picture of a lighthouse in my head for weeks now. I think it’s a great picture of what the church is meant to be.)
We are called to “come out from their midst and be separate.” This means that we should “flee from idolatry” and do our best to keep our minds and hearts “unstained by the world.” But it does NOT mean that we should avoid getting ourselves “dirty” for the sake of Christ. (There is a big difference between getting ourselves dirty because we are walking in worldliness/appeasing our flesh and living in the world and not of it for the sake of Christ.) We escape the darkness by hiding in Christ, not by physically running from things that make us uncomfortable. We have been left here in this darkness to be lights – full of the power, strength, and purity of our Father in heaven who is more than able to transform lives.
So, fellow lighthouse keeper’s, keep on shining. Don’t be afraid to love like He did. Trust the One who is “able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory.” (Jude 1:24)
Peace,
Stephanie
Stephanie Staples-Rostad
