It Takes a Village

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

I used to think that I could go through life independently, but then I realized that Jesus wanted me to have community.

I grew up in a very small town, where the closest Walmart was about 50 minutes away. I grew up on a potato farm, where weekends could be spent working on the farm. It was really easy to get isolated in this situation. I had friends whom I called “friends by proximity.” They were friends that I was friends with because they were the only other people who went to my school in my tiny 25-person class.

Picture this, I was sitting in the ninety-degree heat in the parking lot of a hotel. How did I get there? What was I doing? These are all questions you may be asking. I had just been elected to Colorado State FFA Office the week before. The dream of a lifetime came true, something I had just poured countless sweat, blood, and tears into. I had so much excitement and momentum going into our first training in Denver. This was my first time traveling this far away from home by myself, but I was ready. We had just concluded our first day of training and were all driving to the hotel. I hop into my silver 2012 Ford Escape named Carl and begin my way to the hotel, following my teammates. We get stopped at a stoplight for about 5 minutes due to the crazy amount of traffic that is always happening in Colorado and their terrible roads. When we get going again, my car struggles to gain momentum and speed up. I continued to push aggressively down on the gas pedal, and nothing. I was going a total of 5 miles an hour for about 5 minutes when I decided to pull over into the Seven-Eleven on the way to the hotel. Following suit, my teammates who were following behind me pulled in right behind me and hopped out of the car.

“What’s up?” One of my teammates, Antone, says as he quickly hops out of his car. Let’s just say we were not in a very safe part of town, and the three boys on my state office team are like very protective older brothers. So this is nothing I am not expecting. I explained in detail what had just happened. My teammate Austen jumps in the front seat as Antone says, “Maybe some gas will help.” After filling my car with gas, the car still does not go more than five mph. Austen jumps in the car with me to drive Carl, the rest of the way to the hotel as Antone leads and Kayla follows.

After the long trip back to the hotel, I call my Dad. I start the conversation with a, “Hey, dad, how are you?” I'm thinking, “If Dad can not figure this out, none of us can.” He explains how he thinks my transmission is out and gives us a long list of items to check to ensure this is the case.

It was true; my transmission was out. I hitched a ride with my teammates for training the next few days. On the last day, we pack up our things, head to training for the morning, and then go to lunch at Red Lobster before heading home for a weekend and meeting again for training the following week. My Dad was heading to Denver for a meeting, so I was going to catch a ride with him, get my car towed to a shop, and figure it out from there. It should work perfectly. Right? Wrong. In typical dad fashion, my dad tells me he will be there by one o'clock, and then I get a call. “Hey Ash, so I just left the warehouse. I will be there in about three hours,” he says. “Three hours????” I think to myself. “Okay, sounds good. Thank you.” I exclaim and quickly hang up. Great, my teammates just dropped me off; the tow truck is on its way. It is hot out here, and the hotel will not let me sit inside because I already checked out. To be super honest, I was stuck and frustrated. I did not want to be in this situation.

The thing is, I had this idea but did not even want to touch it. Not even with a 50-foot pole. My best friend Rose and I had just run for State Office together. We met the year before as we served on the State Nominating Committee, electing the new officers together. You see, Rose did not get a state officer the week before. She was devastated, and I was devastated for her. I did not know if she even wanted to see me at that point. I knew she lived about 20 minutes from where I was and could have a solution. I am a chronic people pleaser, so calling her is the last thing I want to do.

After calling my mom and dad a couple more times, further explaining the situation each time and each time suggesting that I give Rose a call, I finally mustered up the courage to give Rose a call. I call her, and after explaining with a cheerful, ready-to-serve voice she says, “I am coming.”

You see, Rose picked me up that day and all the misfit broken pieces in my car. We loaded it up, and she took me to Chick-fil-A, one of my favorite places. Despite my consistent apologies to her throughout our time together, she continued to say, “I am here, and I love you.”

Rose’s actions and character showed me a lot about friendships and how God unconditionally loves us. Despite Rose being heartbroken, she continued to unconditionally love me and serve those around her with her actions of love. She did not just tell me she loved me; she truly lived those words out.

God is like that. He loves us despite us breaking His heart and our conditions, no matter what.

Jesus says, “I am here.” He is here full-heartedly, all the way, all the time. Just what Rose did for me that day. Rose showed love through actions. She said, “I am here with you.” And she followed that up with action. God does the same thing for us. We are going through the waters of life, and Jesus is there walking beside us, loving us, even despite our mess and storm. The Lord longs for us to find those people who will stand beside us modeling Jesus’ character through love. We truly understand our loving God's character when we find those people and have those moments.

Action

Call, text, or grab coffee with a friend this week and ask how you can better serve them

Question

Would you still be friends or serve those who have hurt you?

Quote

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2