Sara Averell, Monica Whiteley, Michelle Suwyn, Robyn Bush. To you these are just names. Not much significance and really you could pass right by them on the street or at an airport and you wouldn’t have a clue. Oh but I would. These would be people I would shriek about seeing and run to embrace. I mean seriously, the kind of shrieks that would get double takes by passers by as they thought to themselves “Wow that girl is off her rocker!” And the embrace that these women would receive, might be a little breath restricting and slightly awkward cause I’m not sure I would let go. (Just a fair warning, ladies 😉 ) But in all seriousness the reason for such an emotional response would be because of what these women have meant to me during different seasons in my life. High school, college, living in Costa Rica, and young adult foolery. Each of these women has significantly shaped my life beyond what words can capture. They walked through big decisions, daily living, painful regrets, and relationship ups and downs. These women asked me the hard questions, held my feet to the fire through accountability and raw honesty. But ultimately these women marked my life because they pointed me to Christ day in and day out.
Thinking back there was never a formal request or a DTR (define the relationship) conversation. I never asked and they never offered to “disciple” me. It just happened. Over time and through week in and week out interactions life happened. Over countless cups of coffee, shared meals, small groups, bible studies, and home group our friendships deepened. I think on both sides of the relationship we were intentional. I had to be intentional to be open, transparent, and teachable. And each of these women were intentional in conversation, question asking, as well as being transparent with their own struggles and faith journeys.
Paul writes a beautiful and challenging letter to the church in Philippi. He exhorts them in many ways throughout this book, but one of the ways that is most perplexing is found in Philippians 2:12
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
One of my favorite questions to ask of God’s Word is how, what does that look like, how do you flesh that out? I think what we quickly discover about this challenge for us in Phil 2:12, is that to work out our salvation in fear and trembling we must do so in community. We need people who are willing to move towards us, who are willing to engage in the honest junk of life, but who don’t want us to stay stuck in that junk. I am in desperate need of women like these- Sara, Monica, Michelle, and Robyn. Women who speak truth into my life and point me to Christ, in the midst of parenting, being a wife and friend, in the midst of having my heart and spirit constantly quickened with a desire towards repentance, ultimately in the process of sanctification. I am so thankful that God allows and intends for us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling in the midst of deep authentic community.
Do you have people like this who have walked through seasons of life with you? How are you pursuing these types of relationships in your life? What excuses are helping to keep you hidden or stuck from truly working out your salvation in fear and trembling?