Jesusluvsall's Blog

In Romans 12:15 we are encouraged to, “Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.” In other words, share the full spectrum of life with others. Both of the polar opposites of celebrating and mourning are opportunities for us to share life and most importantly share God’s love with those in our lives.

That was my weekend as I shared life with my refugee friends.

Late last week, one of my friends told me her aunt had passed away in Texas. I had an appointment to meet her daughter to help her with Spanish Friday evening, so after our time of studying, I went to the home of my friend’s mother to express my condolences and spend time with the family.

Saturday evening was a time for celebrating the birthday of my friend Farough. He is a translator who helps many people. I met him when I he translated for a speaker in my morning class last year. It was a fun evening with a few friends and delicious food.

Sunday afternoon I visited the family again who lost their loved one. They had other visitors who came to share fish, and time together. I stayed with them in the afternoon and evening to show my support for them.

During that time I also helped my friend’s daughter with a project for her college class and helped another with preparing for an appointment to try to get in Dental Hygiene school.

As my weekend weaved between the two opposites of rejoicing with those that rejoice and mourning with those who mourn, my desire was to show God’s love to my friends in both situations. The thought also hit me that in every situation we are in, God is there with us. It is easy for us to feel and believe God is with us when we are having fun and things are going well. But he has also promised us he is with us in the downtimes too. God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all of our troubles as it is written in 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

In this day and age of social media that tends to lead to superficial and limited interaction, I think people are starving for real connection. In sharing all of life’s moments, we can show God’s love to others.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.