I Need You and You Need Me

I got busted this week.

Yup. Little old happy me.

The charge? The Misdemeanor of Keeping it to Myself.

“I had no idea you were going through that,” a friend wrote to me after reading about my frustrating season of unemployment.

Uh oh.

She was right.

I hadn’t shared it with my closest peeps, tweeted it our for the world—I wasn’t even on Twitter then— or bared my soul on Facebook.

It was a secret I kept, shoved quickly behind the door when folks asked how I was doing.

“Good,” I’d respond, putting on my best game face.

Satisfied by my answer, they’d walk away, bending under the heavy weight of their own hidden burdens.

My friend Christine posted a link to a song this morning to encourage all of us on the God-Sized Dream Team.

My soul in need of refilling and my interest piqued, I clicked on over to hear Plumb sing One Drop.

I need you, and you need me. Left alone, we will never be who we could be.

So take my hand and don’t forget that we can do anything together.

Just one drop of your love, a single ray of sun,

Just one thing to change the world.

As happens so often these days, my eyes filled with tears, their salt seasoning my worries and sorrow, and gratitude and love, too, for those drops that have been poured out over me.

Just one drop.

How often have we prayed for a drop of rain during a season of drought, for just a few thoughtful words, for an understanding touch?

And when we can’t face the brokenness of our friends and family, how many times have we scolded ourselves in retrospect for not reaching out to offer what we ourselves were so desperate for?

Perhaps we think what we have to offer is not enough, just a few loaves and fish, or we don’t know what to say.

We don’t want to intrude, especially when we can the see pain up close and we haven’t been invited in.

We find ourselves wanting to help yet feeling helpless.

But we are not helpless

We can offer support through donations of our words, money, time, prayer, or goods.

We can lift up our arms to our fellow equally tuckered out moms.

Just one drop.

I wrote recently about how blessed I was by losing my job and how it led me here, where I am able to bless and encourage others, especially through our In-Between Times. I shared how I had entered the competition to be part of CausePub’s book Couch Rebels.

Couch Rebels are people who have been outside their comfort zones and have used those experiences to learn, grow, and take part in the incredible things life has to offer.   These stories inspire us, challenge us, and give us hope. These stories are packed inside this book.

To tell the truth, I had decided not to send in a submission.

Then, there was a posting from a friend who had done it and was encouraging the rest of us to do it, too.

One by one, several of us entered.

Several small drops joining to carve a powerful path.

We have made it past Round 1 and Round 2, and the voting ends Saturday night.

We’d love to have you read any or all of our stories linked below, drink in the encouragement, and vote for us too, if you like.

Beck Gambill –  Sarah’s Song

Laura Rath – Trusting God. . . With Me

Mandy Scarr – Feeding 1,000

Cathy Baker – A Mosiac Heart

Chelle Wilson – Beyond Fear

Delonna Gibbs – Prayer Changes Everything

Maryleigh Bucher  – When a Teen Runs Away 

Mel Schroeder – A Moment of Love

Olivia Fulmer – Rising from the Ashes

Amber Lia – No Uniform Routine

Alecia Simersky – A Friend Loves at All Times

Kristin Smith – Why I Skipped the Church Picnic

Amy Sullivan – On Destitute Teens and Barbies

Jennifer Camp Johnson – Obedience and Adventure Go Hand in Hand 

Melissa Aldrich – When You Want to Go, But You’re Called to Stay

Beth Coulton – Sugar Bowl Wisdom

And mine, of course – Kim Hall – Coming Through the Dark Valley of Unemployment

Even more important, we’d love to have you buy the book, even if you don’t vote for us.

You can go here and pre-order.

For every book sold, Blood:Water Mission, will be able to provide three people with clean water for one year.

The goal of this Cause is to sell 15,000 copies, which will allow them to impact 45,000 lives! Sign up to buy the book and be part of this life-changing cause!

Do you realize that for less than ten dollars you can buy the equivalent of a rain forest full of encouragement for yourself and have a life-changing impact on people in communities halfway across the world?

Change at least three lives in Africa, plus your own. CLICK HERE to buy the Kindle book. It’s coming out August 14!

Come with me now, look and see how

There’s an ocean overflowing with our hope

So let’s jump in and take a swim

It’s you and me, yeah, forever.

It’s you and me starting with a dream

And giving it all we’ve got

Only takes one drop.

Here is my last sweet drop of encouragement, which I offer via Plumb and her buoyant performance of One Drop, which is also a video to promote Blood: Water Mission.

Watch and listen, smile, dance, throw a kiss, dance a step, and give it all you’ve got, because it only takes one drop.

And thank you, everyone, for your kind words and offers of prayers for my  nephew and his family. We have been overwhelmed by how you poured out a river of drops on their behalf, and we are going to stand in the breach with him as we fight this thing!

Question: What can I do for you today?

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.  ~Zephaniah 3:17

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