Heavy Gifts

Look at any old stone structure. Go take a look. Or google one. But anything will do. One thing you should notice is that there is a foundation. Look at it hard. 

I was looking at an old stone building in a park today. There was also an old stone fence. The base of them had stones which were larger than the stones stacked on top. 

If you look at more complex structures the largest stones are typically toward the bottom. The beefiest in the corners as well. There is one exception.

Arches. The largest stone is often at the peak. The largest stones carry the most force. They're special stones with special names. Keystones and cornerstones. Essential heavy rocks, shaped specifically to hold up a structure. 

So it is with life. We have heavy moments of paramount importance that ground and support the life we build.

Now that's a really long preamble to something I want to talk about today. In faith we need to have people who have heavy gifts, experiences that are built upon. Some of these may include previous addictions, mental health challenges, relationships. Sins, trials, tribulations, etc that someone who's lived their whole life in faith may not have experienced. But they're vital. Without heavy gifts there are no foundations and arches in the bridges of our lives between the righteous and the unrighteous. Some may even it call it a bridge between the sheltered and unsheltered. 

If we are here to be part of the world but not of the world we need people who understand the world. People who have experienced the world. Now I'm not saying that everyone show go seek trials, should go sow wild oats. But I am saying we need to be extra grateful for those who have experiences we don't. And for those of us with heavy gifts we shouldn't be ashamed of them.

We all have varied experiences. We all have lived different lives. We've lived and experienced for a reason. One that God only knows. It is my hope we stop competing over our lives and we look and learn from each others experiences.