Find Your People
Let's be honest, sometimes it can be so hard to find good friends, sometimes it is challenging to find your people. Moving to college I was the loneliest I had ever been and I was totally okay with just locking myself in my room and not coming out. I was scared, scared to put myself out there and make friends, and scared of rejection. I was so scared that I was going to get in with the wrong crowd, I was scared I would not make any friends. We always get so caught up in fitting in and finding that perfect friend group or finding that one person that we can cling to. Sometimes what we don't get is we attract what we are. Everyone is always looking for “the one” but never trying to become “the one.” If you are constantly trying your best to show up for others and love them the way Jesus does, you will attract people who want to do the same for you. At the end of the day the faith of your friends matters. In Mark 2 Jesus heals a paralyzed man, now I have heard this story plenty of times but I never really understood all that these four men did to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Mark 2:1-12 says, “When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this before!’” The friends literally climbed onto the roof with this man who is paralyzed and cut a hole big enough for them to lower him down. I'm no rocket scientist but that had to have been a decent sized hole if you ask me. They went through a lot of effort to get their friend to Jesus. These men had so much faith, they knew if they could just get their friend to Jesus he could be healed. The story never even mentions if the paralyzed man had any type of faith at all. Verse 5 literally says “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’” Jesus healed this man because of his friend's faith. Jesus saw how much confidence these friends had in Him. This proves that who you have in your circle matters. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” We are also called to be a good friend, our faith is important not just for our own benefit but for the benefit of those around us. Our faith is effective when it inspires us to live in a way that shows it is present. Everyone always says you are a combination of the five people you spend the most time with, we are called to be the good in that combination for others.
Who we choose is important. There's always going to be someone you choose who doesn't choose you back, so pick the people who pick you. This is something I have struggled with in the past. I would put my everything into someone trying to get them to choose me but they don't. When you put your whole life aside for someone who doesn't choose you, you only end up losing yourself. So pick the people who pick you. Pick the people who tell you a joke when you're on the verge of a breakdown, pick the people who will dance and sing to “our song” by Tswift at the top of their lungs in a room full of people with no sign of embarrassment, pick the people who tell you the truth even when it hurts, pick the people who hold you accountable, pick the people who will stay on the phone for three hours just simply listening, pick the people who tell you it is okay to hurt and wipe your tears as you cry, pick the people who cover you in prayer, pick the people who remind you you're loved and important and worthy, pick those people and keep them oh so close. Those people are important, those people are the people who stick by you when life gets tough, those are the people who love you at your lowest and never leave, those are the people who pick you, so pick them back. I wouldn't have made it through these past six months if it weren't for the people who continually picked me day after day and constantly reminded me of my worth when I felt so unloved and so unwanted. I made the decision to let go of the people who didn't choose me and I picked the people who picked me. I have never felt so free and I have never ever felt so loved and wanted in my life. So yes, love everyone, forgive everyone, but don't lose yourself trying to be loved and chosen when you are already so so loved and chosen by your people and most importantly you're loved and chosen by your Creator. The good news is no matter how lonely, unwanted, unworthy, or unloved you feel there is always one person who is constantly choosing you and wants you to choose Him back. He is picking YOU, pick Him back.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Ecclesiastes 4:10 “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
Proverbs 18:24 “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Good Talk,
Rylie With The Messy Life :)
