Day 237 - February 6 - Your responses and what they mean

Wow. Ya'll have sure been keeping me busy trying to assimilate all the things you've written on the last two posts. First, let me tell you how much your words mean - it blesses my socks off (figuratively, not literally!) to catch a small glimpse at how the Spirit of God is working in people through our situation. It's an honor to be thus used, a fact I can recognize even though my viewpoint is somewhat myopic right now. God is working in people through Connor's situation, and that's a blessing. I remember early on thinking that if God had a good reason (that's rich, isn't it? 8-) ) for Connor's accident, then at least it was bearable. Knowing that there is good coming from this nightmare does indeed help me to deal with it. So thank you for sharing all you shared.

As for what these comments mean, I'm not sure I know yet. I see a couple of trends in them so far. First, I see that many of the comments fall into two main categories, observational and communal. Many of you are being blessed by God by seeing my family through this ordeal, by "watching God at work", if you will. And many are also moved by the sense of community here, and have commented that there's something here at ConnorWatch that meets a significant communal need in them, something they often don't find in "church". The only reason I can offer for that is that God is moving in this, to what end He hasn't seen fit to share with me yet. But I do know that I remain convinced that this is much bigger than just watching a family through a trial, and I am determined to carry that as far as God wants me to. So we are spending quite a bit of time lately trying to look forward to what God has for all of us - you, me, my family - in and through ConnorWatch.

One thing that sticks out in my thinking is that I don't want this thing to be an instance of "we do, you watch". I don't know if that makes sense, so here's what I mean. Over the last few months I've gotten a number of emails, phone calls, and the like to the tune of "Hey, I heard about (or know, or met, or...) someone who broke their neck - you need to go talk to them and help." Now, it's true that I and my family now have a connecting point there that few people have, and that has value. But I can't help thinking that God called us, collectively, to more than just advising someone of someone elses' need. Imagine, if you will, an observer on the road to Jericho who watched the traveler get beat up by the robbers, and watched the Levite and the Priest walk by on the other side. Can you imagine anyone thinking "Man, that guy just got the $#%& beat out of him! I've never gotten the $#%& beat out of me, but I know someone who has. I'll just whip out my cellphone and give them a call so they can go help this poor guy who got the $#%& beat out of him"? Of course not! Even if we've never gotten the $#%& beat out of us, we still know it's a bad thing and that the victim needs our help, and so we (should) offer it to them. But too often in the body of Christ, that's what we do - we call the pastor, or the elders, or somebody else to do the ministering.

No wonder the church in America is so often dysfunctional (NOT ALWAYS!!! I know - I'm the recipient of "not always" right this minute!)! Too often we are content to let the few do the work, and that translates into a body of Christ that's effectively paralyzed. I wonder if God ever feels like Connor does right now - He's sending the signals, but are they being received by the members of the body as He intends?

We here at ConnorWatch have a bit of culpability here as well - we did call it "ConnorWatch", after all! But one of the things I see as we move forward is a stronger emphasis on action - on actually being the body of Christ instead of watching it. And yes, I do include you readers when I say "we".

So consider this fair warning - our desire is to see the body of Christ functioning - emphasis on "functioning" - through ConnorWatch as He intends. Reaching out, ministering, pushing out of our comfort zones to touch the lives of people around us. That includes each of us - Connor, me, my family - and you. So start praying and thinking about how you get to reach out!

Today, interestingly, Connor suddenly began complaining that all of his right side was suddenly "sparking" like when you hit your funny bone. It didn't take but just a few seconds of that and he was squirming in discomfort. He's more comfortable now after some medicine for pain, but (once again) I am reminded of how badly we desire his feeling to return. We're encouraged by this small thing, and continue to pound on that door like the persistent widows we are (see Luke 18 for clarification if needed)!

So on that note, I'll wrap up for the day. Thank you so much for sticking with us through this - I know God doesn't need a large number of people to work His will, but it sure makes me feel better! Thanks Lord, for working that for our good.

God bless you tonight with your families,

Eric

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