(in)couragement

I just want to brag on God for a hot second.

I've told you before that my b. friend gave me Ann Voskamp's book "One Thousand Gifts" for Christmas. I started reading Ann's blog shortly after I started her book. Through her blog, I discovered that she wrote sometimes for a blog community called (in)courage. Lots of women contribute to that blog, so it's not always the same voice. Sometimes the posts are about being a wife or mom, and that doesn't apply to me. But the posts are always about being a woman, and that always applies (and is always needed). So I subscribed to the (in)courage daily emails. Through this blog community, I've been exposed to some of the most sincere writing I've ever read. These women are real. They're people. They have struggles. They have success. They have times when they need prayer. They have times when everything is peachy. And they write about it. All of it. Through (in)courage, I've found many of the personal blogs of these writers, so I'm reading some of them every day...or at least every post. Every sentence isn't always applicable, but I'm learning from them that sometimes all you need is one sentence to speak to someone's heart. There has not been one day that someone associated with the (in)courage community has not blessed me.
Sometimes I'm afraid to read today's post because I'm afraid it might step on my toes or draw out some deep conviction that I've been trying to dampen and deaden. And it usually does. But that brings growth. That brings closer relationship with my Jesus. That brings a feeling of community centered on these women that I have never met or spoken to...but there is something about them that is like me. We share a common bond. Each of them is different, and they're all different from me and the other readers. But in one way we're all exactly the same. We're women who love Jesus. That tag can be put on each of us, and that means connection. It means none of us are alone. It means these ladies can put a need on their blog and ask for intercession and they can rest in the fact that they have intercessors! It means that no matter how lonely this life gets for any of us, or how much we feel like we might be the only person to have ever experienced something...there is always someone out there. Someone who has been where we are, or someone who will be. The thing is...we have to reach out sometimes. We have to get out of our comfort zones--no matter what they look like--and trust that God will provide. He created us for community. That's where we thrive. Where we don't have to do everything alone. Where we can join up with others and depend on Him. He gifts us with people and we oftentimes just take them for granted. I know I do.
So today, I am thankful for (in)courage and the community it has allowed me to be a part of. Through (in)RL. Through its contributors. Through its raw truth and honesty. Through its affirmation that I am not alone. Through allowing Jesus to live through and within.
Thank you, Lord, for using (in)courage on a daily basis to speak to my heart. Thank you for knowing me and loving me. You are good.