These gals have become such good friends of mine. I've discovered that as you really get to know your "neighbors" you realize, we are all made out of the same fabric. Often we don't allow ourselves the time to get close enough to really get to know each other. We often judge too quickly. Who are we to judge, really??? We all come from different walks of life, but we all function at the highest level we possibly can. When I take the time to really get inside each person's story, I fall in love with them. They are all mini-me's. We are all the same... all broken in some way, but all created in the image of our creator!
The true church was never supposed to be made up of "religious folks" who try to show the world just how perfect we are... but what knits us together is our authenticity and being the safe place where we are not afraid to be vulnerable with one another, because there are no judges among us. We are not called to be our brothers keeper, but to love each other just as we are. And when you don't understand why someone does what they do, trust that everyone is doing the best they can with what they know...
When I first met each of these ladies (some from tennis, and some from my neighborhood) I thought we were as different as night and day. But over time, as I plunged into each of their lives, I began to see we were not that different after all. All broken in some way, but all trying to be the best version of ourselves we knew how to be at the time. As I was invited into their lives and their struggles, we were knit together like family. Hmmm, wonder if that's what the true church is supposed to look like? Loving your neighbors as they are and then helping each other be the best versions of ourselves. All of us each others teacher and each others student.
