Sometimes Love In Action Looks Like Loaf Bread, Fire Trucks And Tuckaseege Bumper Stickers

Life is precious.  And it's sometimes insane.  I learned that tonight.  I need to talk about it.  And now that everyone's gone to bed I think I'll write about it.  To start with... I haven't written anything in this blog worth mentioning for the last 2 years. Before my mom got sick I wrote often - writing is my hobby and something I enjoy a great deal.  While she was sick I was just a giant ball of emotions and it would all come spilling out on the page.  After she died I wrote 4 or 5 pieces that were published in the papers.  Three months after her death I was so wracked with grief that I couldn't even hold my eyes open without pain.  I didn't feel like living - certainly didn't feel like writing.  The doctor said "there's a pill for that" and he put me on anti-depressant medication.  It must've done something for me - at least I stopped crying uncontrollably and I didn't throw up from stress headaches anymore.  But it sucked the emotions out of me.  My will to do much of anything was gone.  I made it through the days but that was it.  How boring a life to live if you can't feel it some kind of way.  Emotions are the stuff that makes it all interesting.  And without some sort of feelings - I didn't have much to write about at all.

A couple of months ago the doctor worked with me to finally ween me off the medicine.  Although I wouldn't know for sure, I'm thinking coming off of anti-depressant medication feels like kicking heroin.  Or maybe getting run over by a bus.  There's even a name for it, "Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome".  Yep.  I was ate up in some Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome and it was B-A-D.  Regardless.  I've endured the weeks of hellish, albeit gradual, withdrawal symptoms and I'm happy to say that I took my last 1/2 a pill last night.  And wouldn't you know it - opportunity for every emotion known to man presented itself to me tonight.  I have felt so many different kinds of ways tonight that I thought for a minute my head might explode.  But the thing I felt the most tonight was God.  I felt His loving mercies wrapped all around me so much so that the hairs stood up on the back of my neck.  I wanted to shout out to everyone, "DO YOU FEEL THAT?!  THAT'S GOD!!!"  

I didn't necessarily mean to get all personal.  I don't know who all reads my blog posts (it surprises me at times when I track my 'hits' and see that people all over the world read my blog.  It's not many people but they're certainly spread out.  Russia, Turkey, Australia, etc.)  So bear with me, my worldly, blog-reading brothers and sisters but I need to get even a little more personal tonight...........I need to speak to my church!

Anyone who knows me knows I love my church.  Tuckaseege Baptist Church, 511 Tuckaseege Road, Mt. Holly, North Carolina, USA.  We have this thing we do called "Love in Action".  The idea is to go out and show people the Love of Christ with our actions - by meeting their needs practically.  Whether it's a meal, a blanket or a ride to somewhere - someone from my church will make it happen for someone in need.  We take it very seriously too.  We have T-shirts that say "Love in Action", a facebook page dedicated to it - and a list of ministries that we partner with on a weekly basis - reaching outside of our church walls to lend a hand.  To be a hand - the Hands and Feet of Jesus.  We have this little thing we say a lot for social media posts saying "Sometimes Love in Action looks a lot like _______________".  Could be anything from changing a tire to watching someone's kids to scraping paint off an old picnic table.  We're not trying to show off, nobody's bragging or saying, "Hey!  Look at me helping someone!" We genuinely love on others because HE loves us. The T-shirts just make us sort of look like a team!

Our church is very good at reaching out to people on the streets, prisoners, shut ins, and hungry people.  It should have been no surprise to me that when I had a need it would be met.  It never occurred to me to ask the very "Love in Action" gang of church people that I'm apart of for help.  But I didn't.  My finances have been disastrous lately - I pray all the time about it saying things like "God, I know you parted the Red Sea for your servant Moses.  Could you possibly help me out with some rent money?"  The other day I was having a conversation with one of my friends from my Life Group (small group, community group, whatever you call yours). "Gas money or Power Bill" I joked as I pulled into the gas station.  "I guess my power will be cut off Monday."  I was laughing - but it was really no joke.  The power was due to be cut off several days before payday.  Without saying anything else about it - my friend had rallied the Life Group and paid my power bill by that night.  One of the girls even hacked into my account to find out how much I owed! (Crazy, stalker lifegroup friends!)  And that would have been more than enough.  But a few days later several of my life group ladies "blitzed" a grocery store and came to my house with many giant bags over flowing with food!!  How could they have known that my cabinet consisted of one can of enchilada sauce and some expired fruit cocktail?!  The Bible says in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you".  Just a week earlier I had given away my last 6-pack of Ramen Noodles to a family that needed some assistance.  I will never take having food for granted again.  It's pretty much everywhere - until you don't have any and no money for any.  Then suddenly a loaf of bread that you didn't have to scrape up change for is like Manna from Heaven.  For me, it might as well have been Manna from Heaven.  It was a miracle - made possible by my church (the hands and feet of Jesus) who does what the Bible says in 1 John 3:18, "Let us not love with words but in actions and in truth".

And then tonight happened.  Tonight we were serving a meal and a sermon to the people at the Gastonia Street Ministries.  We've been going the 2nd Thursday of each month for the last couple of years.  We've nearly got it down to an art!  I don't want to say 'routine' - but it sort of just works out that way now. Tonight was all together different though.  We got a phone call during the meal service about an emergency back at the home of one of our team members.  And suddenly that little "Gang of Doers" sprang into action to rally around our Christian sister in her time of need.  By the time we rounded the corner of her street in our neighborhood, the road was lined with fire trucks and Tuckaseege bumper stickers.  The scene was bad.  It was.  But the first thing I spotted amid the flashing lights and chaos was love.  As a verb, love was spilling out all over the street in front of her home.  Before the first responders had even taken off their jackets - my church had my sweet friend taken care of.  All of our pastors were there - 2 of them even in super hero shirts (because they just both happened to be wearing super hero shirts today - it's how they roll).  Sunday school teachers, one of the firemen was a life-grouper, ex-veterinary technicians to take care of a pet bird, sisters from our prison ministry, our church brother Stephen Stephens (yes, that's really his name) who is just known for giving the BEST HUGS!  Within minutes she and her kids and her dog had a place to stay, new pajamas, any toothbrush, shampoo type thing they might need, breakfast lined up for morning and a solid plan to take care of that family for the next coming days.  Weeks, even.  As long as she needs help - the church is already planning to be there.  The Bible tells us that where ever two or more are gathered in Jesus name - the Holy Spirit is there as well.  He was there tonight - I felt Him.  Even in the face of this disaster - God was there.  And so was half the church and the entire Mt. Holly fire department - who saved the lives of two of her pets and saved her home from total destruction.

I guess at this point I'm rambling.  Perhaps that medication kept me from running on so much?!  I don't know.  But what a night to be un-medicated.  This blog post is likely not to get picked up by any publication - and that's fine.  At least I'm writing again.  I just wanted to tell you, dear reader, how awesome my church is.  But I don't think I can string the right words together to tell my church what they mean to me.  Thank you for the power bill.  Thank you for the groceries.  Thank you for loving people who live in the streets.  Thank you for encouraging me to love.  Thank you for showing our neighborhood tonight what a church is supposed to look like.  Thank you for accepting me - Antidepression Discontinuation Syndrome and all.  Thank you Stephen Stephens for the best hug I've ever had!  Thank you Jones Family for opening your home to our giant life group every week.  Thank you for loving me.  Thank you for loving my son.  Thank you for praying for us at every turn.  And thank you for being the good and faithful servants that you are.  Sometimes Love in Action looks like a random collection of people mixed together by God Himself to meet the practical needs of those in need.  It looks just like you, my beloved Tuckaseege.  Thank you for being Love in Action.