“Finally, believers, rejoice! Be made complete [be what you should be], be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace [enjoy the spiritual well-being experienced by believers who walk closely with G-d]; and the G-d of love and peace [the source of lovingkindness] will be with you.”
2 Corinthians 13:11 AMP
What a wonderful sentiment! Be made complete – specifically, be what you SHOULD be! And from walking in authenticity – from being who you should be – you experience comfort, like-mindedness, and peace.
Most people have heard Alathia’s OCC story – but few have heard my side. Alathia began crocheting before she was 10 years old. She was with my mom at National Collection Week for OCC when she learned to chain stitch, then create purses to go into the boxes. In 2016, again during National Collection Week, she said that G-d spoke to her heart to crochet 2000 purses for filler items for OCC. She calculated how much time it took her to do each purse, how many purses she had to do per day to reach her goal, how many purses she could do per skein of yarn, and how much each purse would cost. She crocheted literally everywhere – the store, church, the orthodontist – everywhere she went, her yarn went.
When she reached a few hundred, I told her G-d would be happy with what she’d done and she could stop. “NO,” she told me firmly, “G-d asked me to do 2000.” I questioned her often, “Are you sure He said 2000? Maybe you misheard.” Again, she stood her ground. She was unrelenting.
Then one day, G-d spoke to my heart. He told me I should not suppress the faith of a child. My prayer changed – I began to ask G-d to provide for her – to show Himself strong for her and to raise up an army of women to help her. And He did. Yarn was given to her in the craziest of ways. Soon, women from Life Church were crocheting purses too. OCC shared her story and people from around the world contacted us. She not only met her goal – she exceeded it. G-d made Himself real to her through each stitch – it was powerful.
But I didn’t see her come alive until we first volunteered at OCC that year, 2017. After we dropped off her purses to be filler items, we served our first shift processing boxes on a table. And that night, I saw my Alathia, an introvert to the core who is painfully shy, come alive. These were her people. She was doing what she was made to do and serving where she was made to serve. And from walking in her calling, she had joy like I’ve never seen in her. You know how the story ends – OCC came and recorded her story in 2017 and we served together until she started working there last year. Watching her work at OCC, I see her being who she should be – a servant, a giver, a hard worker – and the peace I see in her is undeniable.
So why do I share her story? Personally, I remember years of struggling to “find my place” – a place where I fit among people who allow me to be authentically myself and I know the joy that comes from finally finding it. In Paul’s final words to the church in Corinth, he closes with the words, “rejoice! Be what you should be, be comforted, be like minded, and live in peace.” In other words, rejoicing and peace come from being who we were created to be. Abraham Lincoln put it this way, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” I don’t know what is burning in your heart and you don’t know what is burning in mine – but I do know that He gave us the desire, the burning, for a reason. Take the chance. Do the thing. Be who He made YOU to be – and in that place, you will find a peace that passes all understanding. It’s not too late. I promise.
Father – thank You for Alathia and for how You have used her. Thank You for OCC and what a blessing it is to us. Guide me in Your will for my life. Show me what I am to do and help me walk in it. Help me to accomplish all that You’ve placed within me. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and I trust You. Amen.
Daily Reading: 2 Corinthians 10-13
December 6, 2022