Here it is! Episode 2, Part 2.
Packaging this episode was such gift to my own heart. I am thrilled to share it with you today and am sure you'll take as much as I have from the love and wisdom pouring out of these two.
Thank you for being so patient in waiting for Part 2 with The Helsers. My little family has faced some big transitions in the last few weeks - the biggest being into a new home! Inamongst packing up our office and our home - I was marinating in this interview. I thought alot about hard times and challenges that I've been through, and I thought about dear friends and family members who live with chronic illness and pain. I thought specifically about how we've learnt to live (in joy) in tension - and to hold onto our hearts deep cry that God is always good no matter how bad something might be at the time. I realized that we have chosen (my husband and I and our friends that have become like family) to guard our hearts and our connection to the Lord regardless of our circumstances. We owe a lot of that to the teaching and impartation we've received from The Helsers. In this interview, I believe there are so many keys to living a sustainably strong life in the Lord - grounded in His goodness and truth, especially in the face of adversity.
And at the same time, I am bursting with excitement for the new. A new season. Our new home. New adventures. A wide open space to dream with the Lord again!
I’ve heard Jonathan say something profound about tension. Without it, you can’t make music. What a beautiful analogy.
Life, as Melissa so aptly puts it is so full of pain and heartache, joy and delight. It's the full spectrum. And we aren't always prepared for that range of emotions and experiences. Yet Jesus immersed himself in it all - in family and in friendships - in the human experience. He faced heartache, betrayal, persecution, pain and death. And then He left us with the beautiful gift of the Helper - The Holy Spirit. So we would never go through ANYTHING alone again.
One of my favorite parts of this interivew is Melissa speaking about the fruit that suffering produced in her life. I was undone (as you will hear). That is zero resistance to The Holy Spirit – allowing whatever we are going through to produce the good fruit of kindness, mercy, grace, patience and self control in our lives. It’s like there is this ongoing invitation from the Holy Spirit to an upgrade in our nature. To our true selves. We are often busy fretting or freaking out – and the Holy Spirit is wooing us – come away with me – let’s get a heavenly perspective on this. He never leaves us. He never expected us to have all the answers.
I've titled this episode 'Thriving in the Human Experience' after Jonathan and Melissa's powerful statements about embracing life and our connection to Jesus no matter what we are going through.
They kick off by speaking vulnerably about Melissa's journey with chronic pain as a result of a rare bone disease she has been struggling with since she was 17. I asked her about self-pity, bitterness and disappointment in God. How she's managed her heart through such tough seasons. Jonathan speaks about all this from his perspective as her husband and best friend. Its incredible stuff.
And for those of you who want to hear the delightful story of how Bethel Music signed the Helsers – it's all in this episode.
May you be inspired and continue strong in your own beautiful pursuit.