It’s a refreshingly cloudy afternoon in the dead of summer as I write this, the dog days along with the 8:00 pm CT sunsets knocking on the doorstep. In short time, a new school year will be dawning; the commutes will be longer. What better time to return to a tradition unlike any other?
A month post solstice, I’m riding on a relative high. Five months since the infamous dog attack, we Fry’s are starting to sense momentum for the first time in almost four years. In house, the freak accident from February still bears weight as a microcosm to the decade, though the impacts have since dissipated. No question, I’m [super] proud of my family for how we continue to hold for dear life (in all respects) and have rebounded in the wake of an additional hardship, the Juju effect in full swing. 🦋 Granted, the assists from Vanderbilt to Refuge Center have been needed, yet the moves we’ve made regarding therapy, counseling, litigation, even education are paying off. The end result is a victorious ‘ah ha’ on the heels of a down year we refuse to let haunt us, precedence be darned.
At the Q2 turn, the premise of this year is as simple and it is straightforward: Slowly but surely, Lys and I are getting life and lives back on track, taking back some of what was stolen from us – the bitter dregs of ’23, a fading memory somewhere in the shadows and beyond the rear-view. As mentioned last December, last year’s second half was rough, dare I say historically so. To be honest, I still have questions I’m struggling to reconcile; however, this hasn’t kept 2024 from being the sweet eminence we hoped and prayed for last New Year’s Day. As we rise, we press on in new stride and gear, the smile rate at its most frequent since 2020 ironically enough.
Apart from the home front, the contrast between this year and last is no greater felt than the 9-5. Confirmed by prophetic voices last November, the clean slate has proven not only to be what I needed but more importantly, what the Doctor ordered. Any time you can serve an organization that doubles down as a safe place where mission, community, and treating people as diverse in function, co-equal in value, are steady cornerstones, good great things are going to happen. For the first time in my career, I feel understood and appreciated across the board in an environment where there’s no unnecessary funk, toxicity, or division. Day by day, I’m learning more of what God has equipped me to do as those around me believe the best in each other without the agenda of boxing others up. As Gandalf told King Theoden, “Look upon your land…
…a scene I resonate all the more to these days.
Concerning church life, while there’s plenty of direction to be defined, we’re excited to be inching back into healthy rhythms again. Certainly, we’ve enjoyed seeing what God has done in different bodies the past year and building connections within those circles. Yet, having a default fellowship location, as many of us can attest, is a gift to behold.
As for ministry outside the church, our While We’re Waiting small group for bereaved parents has officially launched and is open to mothers and/or fathers coping with child loss. Last week, I shared on Missionary Radio about the nonprofit as well as the community plant Lys and I are seeding in middle Tennessee. Honestly, I haven’t been this stirred about a God-given assignment since the TDOT Essentials Bible Study in 2019. Though the demographic is niche, we’re all in on this call to partner with God in binding the brokenhearted and helping the mourning know how blessed they are. As Lys and I have experienced, apart from those with compensation expectations, there’s not enough people willing to navigate our darkest hours; hence, why we’re eager to champion this trail moving forward as we hope to not only reach more bereaved parents but help the church realize how essential nourishing the grieving heart is outside those staccato moments on Sunday morning.
Of course, there’s more I could say at this point, especially in detailing the status of special projects Lys and I are working on; however, I’ll leave some space for the fall as well as the 2024 Year in Review post in five months. Admittingly, many of the family narratives this decade have been challenging, but I suppose this justifies the sharing of this update. As difficult as recent years have been, there’s wisdom in documenting the journey out from the valleys we find ourselves in. For me, putting words to progress is a means of worship and delighting in God’s sovereignty. While our creative outlets may vary, I encourage you to express gratitude in similar fashion, even if the primary inspiration is to realign and reset course.
In closing, I part with one of my favorite Bible chapter introductions, 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 (ESV). Between this Scripture and the podcast above, I’ll let them capture the ‘selah’ for today.
God of All Comfort
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
Some quick scratch notes on our work identity as seen specifically through Genesis 3:
Scripture:
17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Scratch Notes
We don’t work because of the fall. We work because God intended it to be a divine partnership!
A primary consequence of original sin as it relates to work are the thorns and thistles, the strife we experience within our occupational calling.
The thorns and thistles can look a number of different ways; however, they often involve the collision of our depravities, the interlocking of our sins and limitations, the lack of justice and fairness in some cases.
While our walk with God can prune us as vessels in the marketplace, we must realize our effectiveness is tied to our vertical reliance, our commitment to being like Christ on the clock.
Again, we were created to work as co-partners with Christ/ambassadors for God’s Kingdom as part of our original design (see Adam’s animal naming assignment in Genesis 2:20-22). Despite the fall, we still have a vocational calling. The problem is the overflow of grace, peace, joy, etc. in our jobs can be significantly harder.
While sin’s entrance into the world reversed the natural current in which we effort upstream, our intentionality to be faithful can become rhythmic as we depend on God. This is largely why discovering Him is so important!
God is with you always, so lean on Him when things aren’t working out. After all, He wants the marketplace to be the market space in which He speaks and moves! Why not cry out to Him when you’ve overwhelmed, when you’re burnt out, when you’re being misused or mistreated? Remember He wants to hear from you, so don’t you dare stay silent in times of trouble.
So last week, I’m revisiting the prodigal parable when it dawns on me: Before there could be a party (v. Luke 15:23) for the son, there first had to be ‘fashion statement’ (v. 22), an opportunity for him to know why he was being celebrated.
Like others, my last read through of Luke 15 wasn’t the first time in which I visualized the father decking his son with boughs of jolly. To be honest, I used to skim over this part as a side detail. ‘Nice! The dad is thrilled his son is back,’ I’d think to myself.
But having marinated in this passage further, I can’t help but wonder if this excerpt is the most profound part of the entire story.
For starters, not only does the passage highlight a daily reality of God’s father-heart of love, but it also emphasizes the progression of God’s ministry of reconciliation, a progression as follows:
God’s confirmation of our identity
God’s admittance of ‘as we are’ in light of who we are
God’s celebration of #1 + #2
Per the list above, part of the revelation for me lies in how easily we skip from #1 to #3 when reading the parable. We remember the father’s compassion (v. 20) and the party he throws (v. 23), yet we forget how the father loved on purpose in between as evidenced by his desire to adorn his son with specific garments:
The robe representing a fresh outpouring of grace…
The ring representing a symbol of sonship and authority…
The sandals representing a charge for the son to walk afresh and anew (under both coverings)…
…pretty remarkable, right?
Clearly, the father wasn’t content on just running to embrace his son.
Was he overjoyed? Of course! Was he relieved? Absolutely.
However, as much as the father wanted to welcome his son, he wanted even more so to establish him into a renewed sense of identity, place, and purpose! Accordingly, one has much to gain connecting the parable to real life.
‘Cause truth is: We’re ALL prodigals in some capacity. We’ve all stumbled into rough places and tough times at one point or another. We’ve all encountered rude awakenings involving unexpected setbacks, and in some cases, our own depravity.
Yet, when we receive the power of this parable, we ultimately discover how the story doesn’t end with God forgiving us. In fact, it’s only the beginning!
For even in the wake of our setbacks, our Papa God never stops seeking a way to reconcile us as heirs with an inheritance (Romans 8:17), as anointed children blessed with a destiny. Put another way, God always has a party invitation with your name on it secured in an envelope sealed with grace. And while you’re not forced to open it, if you decide to, you’ll not only find directions, but also information on how to prepare for it. How awesome is that?
The next time you’re tempted to mentally wallow with the pigs, remember God isn’t satisfied to slap an “I forgive you” onto your wrongdoings, your past hurts and failures, and call it a day.
Moreover, God wants to remind you…
…your identity is not lost… …your place at the table is unclaimed… …and oh, by the way, when you choose to change, heaven celebrates. Like a good neighbor, He’ll not only help you arrive at a better place, He, by His Spirit, will help you stay there, too.
My encouragement to you today is to claim the robe, the ring, and the sandals, put on the garments of praise (Isaiah 61:3), and live knowing you’ve been fully reinstated into wholeness with God. Sure, there may be days when your self-perception seems hopelessly chained to dark, dreary memories, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a way to walk in your sonship!
For me, whenever I find myself in that taxing tug-of-war, I…
Confess I’ve been forgiven and set free…
I declare my identity as a mighty man/son of God…
Recommit my ways unto the Lord.
Abiding by this pathway, I affirm God’s confirmation, admittance, and celebration of who I am and *wallah*…God’s mission of reconciliation is complete in that moment.
Well, folks, I’m out of words today. As always, if you need prayer, a word of encouragement, a dose of stimulating dialogue, Lys and I are here.
When we talk about leaders doing ‘leader’ things, it makes sense those things remain above reproach. I think we can all agree there.
However, given leaders are people too, one must remember their mistakes are just as inevitable. Thus, how leaders handle adversity, setbacks, and errors in judgment is worth discussion.
For instance, in my ministerial role, there are times a protective heart can become overprotective if offense (real or perceived) compromises trust. Knowing my weakness, there are moments when I start to feel anxious and troubleshoot a problem before praying into it.
In these moments, I find the best way to realign and reset is humility.
Now, humility is one of my favorite topics, in part, since Jesus sets the ultimate example, not to mention, when I’m healthy, the trait isn’t difficult to employ. Growing up, I wasn’t always teachable, but once I started integrating humility into relational troubleshooting, maturing in meekness became more seamless, clicking into gear the more I realized I needed forgiveness on a daily basis.
In the case of this post’s inspiration, I overstepped a boundary in my attempt to establish one. Despite good intention, the execution was marred by impulse and entitlement. After processing my lapse in judgment, I realized…
To receive grace, one must first accept mercy.
The best way to do this is to yield our humanity to humility.
Applying these two steps, it wasn’t long before I went to my pastor and set up a meeting to apologize to those I offended. The process was exhausting yet liberating to the extent I allowed myself to be a grace filter. The more humility flowed through transparency, the more offense evolved into peace and understanding.
All that said, my point in sharing this story is:
1. Humility is a precious gift but also a powerful weapon and an exit strategy for those tempted to take reconciliation into their own hands. If pride (or any derivative) is like being locked out of your car, humility is the wire hanger that breaks the jam and gets you back to where you need to be.
2. There will be times when we think we’ve got it, only to find we’ve lost it. Thankfully, when we receive grace and apply humility, we become more concerned about what is right than who is wrong. By dying to our right to be right, we essentially find the right way to the right path. That’s the power of humility in action.
As for the month ahead, stay tuned as I plan to revisit my toxic workplace series and unveil some traits of healthy/non-toxic work cultures.
‘Til then, stay humble, my friends, and consider praying in the Bible verses below.
Pushed to the wall, I called to God; from the wide open spaces, he answered. God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid; who would dare lay a hand on me? God’s my strong champion; I flick off my enemies like flies. Far better to take refuge in God than trust in people; Far better to take refuge in God than trust in celebrities. Hemmed in by barbarians, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Hemmed in and with no way out, in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt; Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in; in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt. I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall, when God grabbed and held me. God’s my strength, he’s also my song, and now he’s my salvation. Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? “The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!”
Favorite sayings. We all have them.
Epic battlecries, movie references, whispered words of wisdom…there are many phrases we hold dear when chaos is near.
For instance, whenever I’m struggling and need a spark, one of my go-to sayings is “turn the tide”. I don’t know where it comes from, who said it first or its historical origin; all I know is I’m an avid fan of what it represents, the idea you can alter course and be the change you crave even when you feel you can’t stand.
Knowing this, perhaps it’s not too surprising this idiom would resurface during last night’s workout during which I felt the Lord tell me there are many people currently caught in riptides. Riptides of pride. Riptides of anxiety. Riptides of ungodly belief. Riptides of soul/spirit hurt. Riptides of shame. Riptides of discouragement.
You get the picture.
He then said, ‘Cameron, how do you get out of a riptide?‘
I answered, ‘You just wait it out, right?‘
‘That’s one way. What’s the other?‘
I paused.
Then it hit me: The best way to survive a riptide is to swim parallel to the shore.
So I pressed in some more: ‘Lord, what’s your point?‘
He then said my point is…
…I’ve given you a way out when the waves of strife seek to wipe out my waves of life. For my shore is the truth…my shore is the Word…my shore is my unchanging, constant will.
All you got to do is let my shore be your anchor and your horizon. My shore is always your perspective. Why not swim alongside it? No need to overreact. No need to panic. No need to about-face. Just adjust to the shoreline, keep track of it, and eventually, you will swim out of the tide. For tides constantly come and go, but my shore will always be there.
Now, for some of you, this may sound like a glorified remix of another spiritual colloquialism – “If you’re walking through hell, don’t stop“. But to be fair, there’s more under the hood here. For in this word is a secondary reality – the fact there is not only a time for everything but also a tide for anything under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). While many understand the value of trusting God to supply needs and/or making a moment count, not nearly as many have a gameplan when undertows strike.
My advice? If life’s a beach, have a guide to survive before you arrive. For what we can’t control is eventual, but what we can is effectual as long as we commit our ways to God James 5:8/2 Corinthians 13:5-style.
You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near. Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves…and recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you.
Selah.
As for today, if you feel weary, broken, unable to stand, remember while storms come and go, God’s heart is to strengthen your character so His love can be known. Even when you feel discouraged by undertows of stress and fear pulling you down, remember the way out is where He is, the way to the shore! As our ultimate direction, as one who is mighty to save and strong to deliver, He will never abandon or forsake us since His nature is constant. Accordingly, we can navigate the choppy waters of life knowing we have what we need to sail and swim to Jesus.
beyondsunday.io 