Christ brings His people together in glory

This morning, the vicar said, "It is in the midst of pain, grief and evil that Christ brings his people together in glory."

This afternoon, I started re-reading Traveling Mercies, by Anne Lamott. I highly recommend it, but not to the faint of heart. Her walk of faith has been fractured, to say the least, and she describes it vividly. And sometimes she uses bad words.

Christ-followers do that sometimes.

Anyway, the vicar's words this morning and Ms. Lamott's life-story have reminded me that awfulness opens my heart to people and to God. If I were a perfect human being, I wouldn't need pain to loosen my heart's hinges. But, I'm not perfect. When life is smooth, I don't feel the need to share my true self with others. It seems invasive: both for me to slop out the sludge and for them to be forced to smell it. But when I burst into tears at work, or when the power company turns off my electricity, or when I flood my engine in the middle of an intersection--I am forced to recognize that I need the people around me.

Years ago, I had a friend with whom things had gotten strained. We hadn't had a real conversation in months, and I was under the impression that in another few weeks I'd never see him again. I had decided to let our lives drift apart, 'cause I didn't know how to fix our friendship.

The car I was driving at that point was "problematic." One afternoon, when I had an appointment to take it to the mechanic's, it wouldn't start. And suddenly, there was no one around. I had passed three or four friends on my way to my car, but when I needed someone --- ghosttown. I started to hypervenilate--for some reason it was vital that I got the car fixed ASAP.

I promised God that I would request help from the next person I saw, regardless of who it was. Then he walked around the corner, and I almost reneged. But, I stuffed down my pride and asked him. And he helped me. The ice broke between us, and he took me out to dinner last year before I moved--years after I was "never going to see him again." In my time of panic, God brought his people (back) together, with a glint of glory.

This year has been ... challenging. Mystifying. Horrific. Difficult. Frustrating. Glittering.

I have cried more this year than the 20 that came before it. I would never choose to live it again, but neither would I choose to have not lived it. This has been a year of pain that has joined me with Christ's people in glory. In the physical sense, I've meet some glorious people here. But more than that, in the midst of my tears, God has shown me a piece of himself that I could have never known with a secure and unscarred heart. I'm convinced that He is going to use my newly re-shaped heart to bring people together wherever I land next, and it will be to His glory.

Over and over I have seen God bring his people together in times of pain. I have seen relationships mend at funerals. I have seen compassion and generosity emerge from illness. I have seen gentleness rise from abuse. Under no circumstances do I believe that God causes these evils to invade the lives of his children--but I believe that in the midst of trouble, God brings his people together in glory.