GPBC Blog

By Mitch Lea--

Back in mid June, Betty and I brought home an eight-week old Goldendoodle puppy! We named her Bailea, and now it begins. For those of you who might not know, a puppy has lots of energy at times, loves to explore new things, and has very sharp little teeth that sometimes bite fingers and hands.

She has lots to learn! She needs to be taught the right way to live. Treats and positive reinforcement are a great tool. Sometimes it takes discipline, discipline in love. Bailea is so excited, amazed, and curious about so many new things. We give unconditional love and patience to her in spite of her playful, funny, and sometimes destructive antics.

As with Bailea, we as Christians have a lot to learn! Jesus gives us unconditional love and patience despite our antics. He helps us grow through discipline, discipline in love.

Meanwhile there is still much going on in our lives these days. The health concerns, restrictions, changes, and uncertainty from the pandemic are still here. We have been through a lot for over a year and a half. In the meantime, we still have the things in our lives that existed before the pandemic.

Besides the regular load we have in our day-to-day lives, we still have other things happen. A new baby, the death of a family member, the loss of a job or a promotion, newly married or going through a divorce, and many other things that are a heavy weight on us. This difficult weight, in addition to our regular life, can be overwhelming.

Men, I would like to address this with you. I struggle at times with the feeling I am supposed to be strong and deal with all things myself. In other words, I feel I don’t need help. But I have extra issues that come up that burden me, keeping me from carrying out the work God has for me. Jesus teaches us many things. One of these things occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was talking with his Father about his anxiousness, fears, emotions, and the heavy weight on his shoulders. It was a safe place for him to express his feelings one-on-one, without being judged and without things being solved for him. After this time, he went on to carry out what work God had for him to do. If Jesus - going through some heavy stuff - is able to express deep feelings and work through them, then when life brings difficult or heavy things into our lives, in addition to taking it to Jesus, would it not help us to have the support of a Christian brother to walk alongside us, offering one-on-one, confidential and non-judgmental, distinctively Christian care?

Just as God has love and patience for us, many of us in turn have a desire to serve others with unconditional care through Stephen Ministry. GPBC has brothers and sisters who have been trained in providing distinctively Christian care. They are not counselors; they are Stephen Ministers who are available to you. Please reach out if we can come alongside you in this way:  .

Jesus loves us and shows up in many ways in our lives!