Sometimes all I can do is tuck into my home. When the world spins this quickly, I get dizzy. Whispers turn to shouts. News feeds turn into grenades. I'm left tattered, tangled, and full of despair.
And yet…
We're not left without a way forward.
A way forward is to submit in prayer. To plead for mercy for myself, for my fellow humans, for our broken world, for the fall and folly of man.
God have mercy on your servants.
For our hate. For our disobedience. For our idolatry. For our continual lust for power, wealth, and notoriety. For exploiting and exposing. Dominating and destroying. Killing and deceiving.
Have mercy on us for we have sinned grievously against you and against each other. We have not loved you with our whole hearts. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
You are faithful, steadfast, and in you all mercy and forgiveness can be found. You are a good and just God and so very good to us. For the sake of our Savior, have mercy on us and forgive us that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name.
A way forward is to accept that I cannot change this world – fallen and broken. What a horrible burden to try and carry. No, my dear friends, that is the Lord's work, not mine. I fear it will only cause great despair to try to fix what cannot be fixed by human hands. The world is the Lord's work. Humanity is the Lord's work. The heart is the Lord's work.
But I have work too. I have a way forward.
I have a husband to care for, serve, and love.
I have four children to teach, bring up, and direct. Four children that will teach their children who will teach their children. A heritage to create and spread wide.
I have a home, four walls, in which to pray for and with my fellow man, a home to feed people, a home to serve my community, to listen to grieving hearts, and to lay the foundations for our future. I cannot think of a better time to belly up to the supper table and listen to others stories, serve them faithfully, fill their bellies, and become their friend. Breaking bread. Sharing our hearts.
I have a community to love and care for. A community of rich people, poor people, sick people, proud people, educated people, every color of the rainbow.
There may be only six of us – but that is six souls to serve, love, and pray for the church and the people of the world.
Just six.
Our voices are small but our God is great.
May we seek justice, peace, change, and love where it can truly be found.
If you're scrambling for answers to major questions, if you're questioning why you're here and what the point to all of this is, you may find this document helpful. It was the foundation of my conversion in my early twenties when I found myself asking those same questions.
Thank you for sharing your words that match MY heart ❤️
I hear your prayer, your plea and your resolve. Thank you for this
You are a beautiful human being. Bless you
Thank you so very much for your wonderful post. Your words went straight to my heart. I agree with all you said and I’ve been praying for our broken country. I agree that through prayer to our all loving God is the only way for healing Add one single voice to to your six. In Jesus holy name we pray
Absolutely beautiful and full of the simple and perfect, ageless truth: we are sinful, He is perfect, He loves us and forgives us if we only ask. Amen.
Beautiful and true and hard thoughts. Thank you for these.
Beautifully said. It’s so easy to fall victim to despair in times like these, but I’ve found myself at peace, knowing that God is in charge, not me. Surrender to his will is so freeing.
Thank you for this post. It mimics my heart exactly.
Perfect. Thank you. God gave us a great love-work to do within the sphere of our own family, and neighbors. Through His loving power, let us each enjoy serving them well – and watch how this changes the world.
Hello Shaye, thank you for sharing these words of God.
I wanted to share this with you, sometimes we think that serving God means going across the world to do our ministry, but most of the times God is asking us to serve Him in our family, our friends and in our community. God also ask us to server Him in our day to day activities and He ask of us to server Him in simple things.
Jesus said to do everything like we were doing these things to Him, He said in Matthew 25:35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
May God bless you and your family in the name of Jesus, Amen
Thank you so much for reminding me that God is the one that changes hearts
Thank you for your boldness and your candor. These last few months have been a time of retreat for many of us…a time to regroup, think and pray about how to move forward. Like you,I find my peace and joy in my wonderful God, and sense Him gently telling me to let go, unplug from the recent anger, hate, and noise, and just enjoy the bounty of His blessings. There is so very much to be thankful for…the people that God has placed in our lives, the gardens we grow, and the harvest that comes from both.
The Elliott Homestead, Justin Rhodes, and Simple Living Alaska are my three most wonderful recent discoveries over the last few weeks. I am inspired by and am so very glad for people like you who are willing to share what they’ve learned with others, so that they, too, can share.
Dearest Shaye, let us all have hearts to pray and trust our faithful and merciful Father. We are His. We are created to glorify Him and the glorious gift of Salvation we have been given. We do this in the manner you listed. We spread love, break bread together, forgive, show grace and delight in the goodness and greatness of our Lord each moment of each day through it all.
Be blessed Elliott family as you walk in the love and light of our Savior.