He Gets It, He Just Does

JJ Heller

Last week, I listened to a song that brought me to tears.

For Easter, JJ Heller came and performed at The Grove. It was so amazing to listen to her music and meet her in person. She is such a beautiful person, in so many ways. I bought all of her CD's and have been listening to them non stop in my car. Driving home from the movie on Friday night, her song, If You Fall, was playing.

If You Fall 
JJ Heller

You are a house that’s broken down
You are a house that’s burning
And everything in me wants to run
But that’s not love
If you fall, I fall with you
If you hurt I feel it too
Even if my heart turns black and blue
I will love you
I planted seeds down in the ground
Not every one is growing
When I am tempted to give up
I choose love
If you fall, I fall with you
If you hurt I feel it too
Even if my heart turns black and blue
I will love you
Beauty and light will fight for you
Goodness will rise
It shines for you

For almost 3 months, I have been sick. Not the puking my guts out, internal pain constantly type of sick, just the normal stuffy/runny nose and a horrible cough. I don't understand why it has been like this. I have tried so many different medicines. I have been to the doctor multiple times. And now I'm just taking supplements and it's helping...FINALLY. What I forgot though, was that God feels our pain. The part of this song that brought me to tears was the line, "if you hurt I feel it too." Those words made me realize I wasn't alone through all of this.

When you've been sick for that long, people stop asking what's wrong and they just accept it. But few people ever asked how it made me feel. How I was doing with being sick. Cause I wasn't doing well. I was sad and so frustrated. But I didn't know what to do differently. Even now, I'm still sniffly and coughing. The change in my heart has to do with God feeling my pain. I forgot, I just forgot that he gets it. He understands completely. I felt so alone. But no matter the kind of pain we have, God is with us. We are never alone. NEVER.

Remember that. God is with you. You are not alone. And he gets it, better than anyone else.

Representing SIN!

I hate being sick. This is my 9th week of being sick. I got a little bug early January, then by mid February I went to Urgent Care and got some antibiotics because it was a sinus infection. It is now March, and I am still sick. I am so sick of being sick and tired. My energy is gone. My enthusiasm is diminishing, and I just don't feel like Bre. I know, I know. I am Bre. But I don't feel like Bre.
I'm not one that rests very often. Most people, like my mother, attribute this to why I am still sick. I don't fully understand what resting means. Granted, I have gotten better at it as I've gotten older. But I'm still not great at it.

Usually, when I get sick, I think God is trying to tell me to rest. He wants us to rest. He wants us to be healthy and well. He's given us our bodies and he tells us that they are temples. I forget that.

But what I also think he is trying to show me is a picture of what sickness represents.

We, as humans, live on earth, obviously. As I sit, coughing and feeling so weak, I think of God. In his infinite wisdom, he is allowing me to be sick. He knows that I am a terrible sick person; he knows I'm not pleasant to be around. He knows that I hate blowing my nose and coughing constantly. He knows that I like to be energetic, and I'm not, when I'm sick.

To me, this is a representation of what sin is. We battle sin and temptation every single day, just like I have fought this battle with sickness for the past 2 and a half months. When I'm sick, I take vitamins, medicine, and other things to pump my body full of things to fight off the sickness. It's the same with fighting our spiritual battle, we have to read the word, listen to worship music, and fill ourselves with Jesus. How appropriate this lesson is on Easter week.

Today is Good Friday. Today, we remember so many years ago that Jesus hung on a cross for our sin. In just a few minutes, so long ago, the sun went down and pitch darkness filled the earth for three hours. Then, because of his love for us, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know what they do." It is a Good Friday. Jesus took the punishment for our sin.

The veil was torn.

Jesus died for us. 

He is with us, 

now and forever.