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We Need Each Other-by Heidi McLaughlin

Posted: February 9, 2020

Twice in this last week I’ve needed help and was gutsy enough to ask for it. One big “ask” was for gift items for a Boys Home in Colombia. I am part of a huge Women’s ministry in my beloved church in Kelowna, British Columbia and I bravely asked for help. I asked for gifts of LEGO, soccer balls, games and puzzles that I could take with me on my upcoming trip to visit three cities in Colombia. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and generosity of the women to lavish elaborate gifts on boys they’ve never met.

My second big ask was on Facebook. I need help with the subtitle for my new book called IRRESISTIBLE JOY launching October 10, 2020. The subtitle of any book is a vital piece for the reader to know what’s actually inside the book. So I posted three sub-title options on Facebook and asked my followers to vote.  I’ve had hundreds of responses and several people gave extra insight into why or why not they liked a certain phrase. Love it.  I’m incredibly grateful for people who walk alongside of us to help “one another.”

In fact, God designed life to happen this way.

God put us on this earth to be His hands, feet, eyes, ears and heart. There are 36 “one another” principles in the New Testament to help us live out the commandment to “love one another.” Some of them are:

• Pray for one another
• Bear each other’s burdens
• Encourage one another
• Forgive one another
• Honour one another
• Confess your sins to one another…and on and on.

Why does God want us to do this? So that we also will be blessed!  Look what the Bible says: “And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up” (Galatians 6:9. I get it. God wants us to be in relationship with “one another” and help each other so that when we pour out, we will reap joy.

Women faces were filled with the joy as they handed over their gifts for their unknown boys in Colombia. I sensed the support and encouragement when my Facebook friends voted for my sub-title.

In a world that’s heading toward isolation, we need each other more than ever.

Of course we can’t be there for everyone and meet every need. But God has given each of us different passions, abilities and the gift of time and money. How will we spend it? Will we be generous with the overflow of God’s generosity in our lives, or cling to it for our own satisfaction and pleasure? Here’s the strange part. When we give it away God does something miraculous. He fills us with joy and blessings. Do you want God to enrich your life? Why not try pouring out so that He can fill. The next time someone asks for help, remember we’ve been created to “help one another.”

 

 

Posted in: alone, ask for help, blessings, Colombia, Encouragement, Friendship, isolation, joy, Kindness, loneliness, needs, thankful, we need each other