Empires

I saw the newest Captain America movie last night. I’m not a big fan of Marvel by any means, having only seen the first Avengers and all the Thor and Iron Mans (I enjoyed all of those, by the way). Under any other circumstances I probably would have just skipped it. But J was invited by someone he works with, as part of a small group of Berea folks working in nonprofits and elsewhere nearby, so I happily obliged.  Couples go to “business” functions together, right? J

Anyway, all of that to say that it was a pretty good movie.  I had some hang-ups with it, which I won’t reveal so as to avoid the ever-dreaded and nasty spoilers. I also probably won’t see it again. But it was a pretty good movie. I’ll also avoid giving away any major plot points, but one quote in particular really jumped out at me, and I’m completely butchering it, but it’s something like this:

“When an empire is attacked by enemies, it will rebuild. But when an empire is attacked from within, that’s death.”

As I was thinking of this earlier today, I was reminded of just how fortunate I am to have the friends, support system, extended family, and blood family that I have. I’m a fairly independent person by nature, but I imagine going through college, young adulthood,   general life, etc, would have been much more difficult if I was sailing the ship by myself. Having a strong group of “co-steerers” (there I go making up words!!) to help navigate said ship alongside me got me out of a lot of funks, doubt, discouragement, potentially bad choices, stress, crazy transitions, into a place now where I know that if I call on any one from my circle, they will be there!

It also got me to thinking about relationships, which can be seen as empires if you’re, perhaps, married with a family. Or churches, even. I have a couple of close relationships that come to mind. All sorts of negativity, rumors, bad attitudes, disappointments and frustrations, addictions/bad habits, self-doubt, a laundry list threaten these types of relationships daily. I think the enemy hates to see healthy relationships and bodies that are thriving, so he’ll do what he can to sabotage that.  If we allow that poison to seep into something that we see as sacred and valuable, it can be catastrophic and devastating.  We have to be kind to each other. We have to listen to each other. We have to make time for each other, pushing aside all the other idols of life that steal our time and attention. We have to preserve the sanctity of unity, at all costs. We have to demonstrate agape love for one another.

Lord knows I’m learning, and it’s only by His grace that I can even try. I am so grateful that when the Holy Spirit dwells in us, it’s able to bypass anything we think we cannot do or show to others, especially when we don’t “feel like it” (Which is me more than I care to admit). Respect, honor, and love start with a choice. We need each other!

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” –Ecclesiastes 4:12

Let’s strive to maintain and build up the empires in our own lives!

End of post: WE WERE ALL IN PIKEVILLE THIS TIME LAST YEAR!!!!!!!!!!