Expression

I recently had opportunity to acquire some travel aids for a long-haul flight. In my youth, concepts of swollen feet didn't really enter my consideration. 

Alas: for this venture, I gave in to the reality that compression socks would be a wise investment.

And, being quirky, I thought that perhaps standard black or white didn't quite fit my personality... So funky patterns it was!

Changing into said socks during the layover raised a few eyebrows, but it also raised a few questions... Strangers asked me for details about  my fun socks, as they commented on the joy of self expression. 

It doesn't take much for us to find things that bring us happiness while also serving a particular need. God made us all different, and delights in variety, so why shouldn't we?

We can express our choices and joys in different ways, just as we can live our faith in varying ways. 

However we express the love of God that has been lavished upon us, let us do it on such a way that makes someone smile (even ourselves!)

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends…

Over time, expressions change.
For example, we often hear some variation of the phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” as meaning doing something impressive without any help from anyone else. The self-sufficiency, however, was not the intention of the phrase.

When it began in the 1800s, it was a jest to describe some absurdity, or impossible task. One cannot defy gravity by will or by effort. Much like my puppy with his foot stuck in a loop toy (poor Shadow!), the act of lifting up just leads to frustration or (eventually, and hilariously) falling down.

The reality is: none of us can get through life alone. None of us are entirely independent.
But rather than co-dependent, we are interdependent. And this is how God created us to be! We benefit from the blessing of community.

When times are tough, we lean on the strength of others. When things are going well for us, we are graced by the opportunity to be generous. Whether with time, love, experiences, or resources, God has given us one another so that we all might flourish.

The scripture often speaks of the ways in which we grow when we come together: we learn, we share, we support. Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs; the apostles spoke of the sharing of gifts, the whole concept of Christian community depends on the willingness to connect with others.

What a blessing to be with one another, to be vulnerable in our weaknesses and generous in our strengths; to truly wish the best for everyone we encounter as a beloved and valued child of God. Let us give thanks for the communities that we are part of!

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ~Rom 12.4-5