Tiny Devotional for Monday, 08-14-2023

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, today is Vanessa’s first day on her new job.

The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
Proverbs 14:10, NASB

From youth until I don't know when, I believed what people told me with their faces and actions, and the words they said. I don’t know when I discovered that many of the people around me were walking wounded.  

I doubt I learned that in an academic setting, ALTHOUGH that would have been a good place to get introduced to the idea. My bachelor’s degree is in psychology, I’ve got about half of a seminary degree, and I have two graduate degrees in counseling, and any one of those would have been a place to learn such an important secret.  

Certainly, in 35 years of recovery, I’ve heard many stories of people trying to maintain appearances while their lives were falling apart; that’s EVERY story I heard. But, they were alcoholics, like me; surely, the Earth People (non-alcoholics) didn’t have those kinds of issues, did they? 

I THINK I discovered it in church-related small group settings. Looking back, that seems to be where most of the ministry takes place for me, and for others.
That’s not to criticize the corporate worship service. Doing that would be like criticizing my shoe because it wasn’t my shovel. Corporate worship and small group are just about as different as my shoe and my shovel, and both are needed; just not for the same thing.
If your heart is weary with unshared bitterness, or bursting with joy, you KNOW what my recommendation is.
Time to get small! Like this:

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 14, 2023 at 6:30 PM

    I thank God for my small group sisters at The Way!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandAugust 15, 2023 at 5:46 AM

    Amen my Brother Pat, thank God for our small groups. God is Good!

    ReplyDelete

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