Will The Real Friction Please Stand Up?

"And with all that love, he was completely honest. Yet even when his actions or words exposed people's darkest motives, they didn't feel shamed. They felt safe, really safe with him."

-taken from "So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore"

"And you're like a 90's Kennedy
And you're really a million years old
You can't fool me
They'll throw opinions like rocks in riots
And they'll stumble around like hypocrites
Is it just me or is it dark in here?"

-"No Pressure Over Cappucino" Lyrics by Alanis Morissette



Maybe it's a Teddy Bear

"I was so young."

Maybe it's a Bible.

Jill grew up in a very strict religious home. She knew more about what she couldn't do then what she could. Freedom? Freedom? It seemed to her that people that knew God actually knew very little about freedom. At least the people she knew that said they knew God. Her parents really didn't want to know her life. They didn't want to know the awkward conversations she had had with her church leaders that had nothing to do with God and were ridiculously inappropriate. They didn't want to know about her lifestyle or drug abuse. She knew what happened to people like her. Don't rock the boat...play nice...give them what they want. A smile. A nice dress. Pat answers. They also didn't know the depth of bitterness she had towards them and ultimately God for the whole thing. Everytime she saw the large Bible on the coffee table it triggered her. It still raged.

Maybe it's a watch
-"You never have time for me!"

Maybe it's a belt.

That sound still makes him jump. People wonder why he never wears one around his pants. When his pants are screaming "wear a belt!", 1 foot past his waist. How many times did it happen? Dad in his anger. Mom running to the bedroom in seeming indifference. On average, he figured, he was whipped 20 times each time...sometimes less...sometimes more. It started when he was 8...what do you do with that at eight years old? It continued on through high school. Until....he never saw love in his Dad's eyes. Never....when they were happening. He still has scars to prove the magnitude of them. He didn't know the state could do something about it. He didn't know it was wrong for his Mom to silently cry in the bedroom. She felt just as trapped as he did. He didn't know it wasn't right or normal. He didn't know he didn't deserve it. He didn't know it wasn't his fault. He didn't know he didn't deserve it. He didn't know. Deep down....it boiled. He still doesn't really know.

Maybe it's Money

"Is that all you care about?"

Maybe it's a picture frame with someone "lost".

>Luengele had lost 9 family members to AIDS....9 brothers and sisters...Nine!

>Tony lost his wife tragically.

>She lost her innocence and heart.

>He lost his job.

>They lost their children.

>Sam lost his home.

The picture in the frame is so much more than just a picture. Only they could really know how much that moment...that season...changed their lives.

Maybe it's "the bottle"

"Why does Joe drink so much?"

"I DONT HAVE A PROBLEM!"

Maybe it's food


What....are you holding onto?

It matters so much what we think about God and Jesus in these seasons in these realities of our lives. Is it safe? Is God really loving? Does He care? "Sometimes I might not hope He cares or knows about these things...most of the time...deep down...I hope He does. I hope what I hope about Him is true."

"You know, you don't have to live like this." He whispers

"I love you no matter what. No matter what."

How much pain and shame has been caused by that thing? What would it be like to trust that in someone else's hands? What would it be like to trust? That's where so many of us are at isn't is? If we trace the friction back...it leads to these moments often...or seasons. I don't know what you've done. I don't know what's been done to you. I don't know what you think about yourself. I know...I know...God loves you. Period. You...can...be...more...free. You can grow in the journey of that. Life is there.

"And may God bless you in your travels in your conquests and queries."

-"No Pressure Over Cappuccino"