I love bubbles--trying to blow the biggest, the most, and watching them silently float into the air completely defiant to gravity and brilliantly displaying rainbow swirls as the go...
But, more so than many times in our history, it seems we are preferring to live our entire lives in bubbles. We've embraced the rugged, self-made individual, the world of personal devices, the craze of heightened needs for privacy, the wildly popular need for 1 person per 5-seat vehicle, the need for separate homes, tall fences, and dark curtains. We've even shifted our entire concept of faith and religion to the individualize, personal, and solely internal.
Sometimes it's great to have a little time alone, to have some personal space.
But there are times I fear we've taken things too far. There are times when I am absolutely sure that if my own bubble hadn't been broken, I would not be here today!
Why I'm sure of this: 2 weeks ago the house I lived in while in Bellevue was vacated, and Sarah and I were faced with the task of getting my house that had been poorly kept by a renter back into shape for a sale.
We scarcely knew what we were in for: deep cleaning, wall painting, rebuilding, replacing, steaming, shining, sweeping, digging, mowing, cutting, wiping, drilling, dusting, ripping up, laying down, refitting, etc. For the last 2 weeks, it has consumed so much of us.
BUT, this is where I thank God for keeping our bubbles popped! Within a heartbeat, Sarah's and my parents showed up with tools, ideas, energy, solutions, love, and the willingness to put in some long, sweaty, back-aching hours. Within minutes, old neighbors I had scarcely seen in months showed up asking to help mow, help throw away, help fix.
It was beautiful. Sarah and I looked around and were blown away by the community that surrounded us and gave away their Memorial Day weekends to be with us and love us. We could only imagine what it would have felt like trying to go through that all alone. After all, that's our first reaction in this world. We desire to be tough enough all by ourselves. We'd rather not let anyone help us. We don't think we need anyone.
But we realized that the opposite happens when you let your bubbles pop: we get to go through life together. We get to hold each other up.
Opposed to our worldly view today that says "I'm afraid to help you because if I do I may not have enough to take care of myself," God encourages us to live in a world that says "I know not one of us will ever have enough, but together we'll always have enough."
My prayer today is that God takes tiny needles and pops the bubbles of our lives that keep us isolated. My prayer is that we'll be connected in ways we'd not have the chance otherwise!
More to come!
Jason <><
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