Come On Over

So I’m wrestling with this conversation that Jesus and Mema keep having with me about my gifts and my intuition and instincts
I’m a natural at gathering people together and I love pulling out my dining table and making people feel at home
It comes from being raised by Mema who had an open invitation pasted upon her back door and her heart.

I do find my guard going up though when I’m invited someplace and right off the bat, I hear “we separate men and women “ for this and that.

Hold your horses, just a minute here.

Already I can feel the cliche – this is for married couples ages xx to xx, this is for singles ages x to x, this is for divorced, widow, old, young, pink, green, weight lifters, candy eaters, artists, scholars Etc,

So while we are trying to fit people into the right boxes, there’s those of us that are square pegs that just don’t fit into any little circle quite right
and those are the ones that slip between the cracks

Mema and Jesus talking about all the people…. Come on over, sit down with me

Being asked to go into a separate room from the only person I really know doesn’t make me feel welcomed or comfortable

Yea, I get it…. It makes others more comfortable but let me shoot straight here-

Perfect love has no fear.

No fear of judgement
No fear of being left out
No fear of not fitting in
No fear of being too much or not enough
No fear of losing out

So Greg Mead and I have been talking about the days when we gathered with friends and laughed and shared and grew closer to God and to each other

It all started at home…. Taking turns, breaking bread and dishes and feeling completely comfortable with each other enough to try a new recipe and laugh together when it flopped, to start a game and get distracted by talking and then prayer.
To sit barefoot on the couch and lean forward with anticipation.

We have friends in low places, people that don’t fit in cubby holes but do fit in our heart and home

As one friend said “ it’s supposed to be about Jesus.”

Damn straight. Jesus.

I reckon He would pour a glass of sweet tea, pull out a chair and beat us at chicken foot and laugh really loud as the dog grabbed the cookie out of His hand.

That’s how I see Jesus. I think he’ll have an open invitation tacked upon His heart and He’ll be glad to see anybody and He won’t say, “oh you’re divorced-this isn’t the right place for you” or “you will be better served over there” or “all the married ladies go here”

Nah, He’s Gonna say “I’ve been waiting to talk to you for so long” and then He’s gonna squeeze in right next to you…. No matter if you stink to high heaven from a long day working or if you’ve sprayed on enough perfume to smell you from fifty feet, or if you got crazy drunk two nights ago and still have a hangover, or if you stayed up half the night cramming Bible verses in your head just so you’ll feel good enough.

All He’s going to do is love you and all He wants is for you to love Him and each other. .