someone i respect shared yesterday real quickly about their definition of a healthy person...
1) healthy people believe they are profoundly significant.
2) healthy people are self aware and authentic.
3) healthy people have the capacity for empathy and love.
which one best represents you? which one is hardest to achieve?
for many, i would imagine that believing you are profoundly significant is very uncomfortable. but we are profoundly significant. we each resemble a unique piece of God that the world desperately needs to see and experience. one of the things i've been trying to live by lately is, "act as if it all counted on you; but know full well you can't do it all." i met Immanuel in Rwanda a few years back, he worked with world relief as a volunteer coordinator. he shepherded a number of key volunteers who went out into the squatter camps to meet with, serve, help, pray and bury those who were affected with aids. i asked him how he would encourage his volunteers and he said, "everything they do matters. it matters. so i tell them to do what they can, with what they have and trust that God will take care of the rest."
i think we often put more on God than he would like. this seems to go against how he wired and formed us as his image bearers. i love that verse in 2nd Peter 3:11, "you ought to live holy lives and you look forward to the day of the Lord and speed it's coming." speed it up? for so long, i didn't know i had a say in this. i thought i was waiting. just waiting. healthy people want to speed this up; not slow it down. i often will ask myself if this choice (gossip, certain purchase, escaping the pain, or sarcasm to name a few) would be one that will speed things up or slow things down? doing this helps me act as if it all counted on me, to own what i can do with what God has uniquely entrusted to me...
Steve,
I am sad that you are leaving that is the truth, but I want you to know that I think what you have to say is very important and your are very important so I know that you leaving may not be easy but it is the next best right thing for you and your family because the people out in California NEED to hear what you have to say. I know I am not saying good bye forever because I will for sure keep in touch. I have been praying for you a lot lately. I know it will be hard for all the Mars Hill Community and others but I know that God has called you to be in California! Thank you so much for being open with us students and letting us feel like we can tell you anything! You have changed all of our lives and I am anxious for you to change a bunch more.
Brie
Posted by: Brie | November 12, 2008 at 04:40 AM
Great thoughts man...and great to have you back to posting your thoughts. Always so thought provoking. I was just having a conversation about this a couple of days ago. In John 6 we see the common theme of Jesus providing for the 12. He is sending them out with all they need to provide for others. God does not want us to always rely on him to do it, he dwells within us so that we can do his work. I love that thought. Thanks for posting today.
Posted by: Trevor DeVage | November 12, 2008 at 06:59 AM
these are indeed great definitions of a healthy person. healthy, particularly, in spirit and emotion. i personally think that capacity to love and authenticity are deserve a bit of emphasis, particularly because they tend to emcompass some of the other things mentioned.
Posted by: amoslanka | November 30, 2008 at 01:47 AM