EACH OTHERNESS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Wendell Berry said this…

“People use drugs, legal and illegal, because their lives are intolerably painful or dull. They hate their work and find no rest in their leisure. They are estranged from their families and their neighbors…among us it is lonely, shameful, and addictive. We need drugs, apparently, because we have lost each other.”

This was shared by my Pastor last weekend as he was stressing that we live in a time when COMMUNITY, when EACH OTHERNESS, has never been more needed.

And if we are seeing anything from the recent response to Hurricane HARVEY, we are seeing the BEST of what community can do.

Whether it is JJ WATT turning a $200,000 goal into over 13 million in relief as of this penning or the countless selfless acts of humanity that have been displayed. When called upon, COMMUNITY can care, COMMUNITY can respond, and COMMUNITY works.

When we REDISCOVER EACH OTHER, so much is POSSIBLE!

Last night I shared the importance of community when it comes to the drug epidemic.  Yesterday was OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY and understandably all the HARVEY coverage over washed it, but it was marked by a multitude of “FED UP” rallies across the state and the country.  And I was so humbled and blessed to be invited to share remarks at the Fairfield County event last night.  And while we spent some much-needed time reflecting on the myriad of losses in that community, I wanted folks to know and understand that the HOPEFUL expressions of COMMUNITY that we are and will continue to see in Texas are also NEEDED for this epidemic as well.

Remember friends,

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESV

That truth, that passage, has been validated in the relief efforts for HARVEY sufferers, and that truth is applicable for ALL that ails us.

Together we ARE better.

I mentioned in a recent OFH that Sam Quinones, author of DREAMLAND, in an address to an amazing work of “TOGETHERNESS” the HOPE HOUSE in Columbus, said that our challenge with the opiate crisis will NOT change because of ONE solution but with a MOSAIC of solutions; clinicians, mental health professionals, law enforcement, first responders, peer supporters, FAITH focused efforts and solutions, and others all linking efforts and arms.  

TOGETHER.

Why?

Two are better than one. 

Three? That has the potential to be amazing. 

So, let’s never forget my friends...

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. – Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)

And if that is true of EACH of us, imagine what HE COULD accomplish WITH ALL OF US!

Have a BLESSED WEEKEND!

I love you all.

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE