Our Mission to Mend the Broken.

I am pretty slow to admit that I am unwell. In fact just this week I received my second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday and despite feeling fine the rest of that day, the next morning as I got ready to head to the church I needed to stop, assess my body, and admit that I was too sick to go out. I had taken a short one-night vacation on Sunday afternoon until Monday night and I knew that I was going to be cramming a lot of work into a few short days in the office. The last thing I wanted to do was to stop and be sick, but nonetheless it knocked me down for a solid 24 hours.

We are comfortable admitting when we have been sick though. We recall stories of colds, flu, fevers and restless nights, but how comfortable are we sharing the same kind of stories about our mental health? How quick are we to admit to seasons of heightened anxiety, depression, addiction, or deep grief? I believe part of the reason we are afraid to share these things is because we don't have a lot of stories of healing like we do with physical illness. When someone says "I'm doing good" we want that to be true because we are afraid that we won't know what to do if they say "I'm not doing well", and in the same vein we are afraid to share that we are not doing well because we don't want to worry others.

Our mission at Valley Chapel is to reach, teach, mend, and send, but if we don't know how to admit our pains, then how can we do the work of mending? 

Our series has been all about belonging coming before changes in belief or behavior. The same is true in our mission to mend. Beliefs and behaviors rarely mend the broken, but belonging does. This week we will explore Psalm 23 and see what we can learn about creating a feeling of belonging for those who are suffering. Perhaps it is less about what we say, and more about how we walk with them on their journey. I hope the service will be a blessing to you.