Count it as a Loss

Eighteen months of loss. Losing a church family. My great aunt. My ability to trust others. My support network. Friendships. The grieving has been hard. The recovery a process rivaling the speed of a turtle. It has been what a friend calls the "Twilight Zone", my new normal.

We all hate loss. In fact, we live our lives fighting it. It's called self-protection. Our schemes for insulating ourselves from loss range from great ideas to downright evil. We buy insurance plans. We study a little more to ensure that grade. We people please so we will be loved. We refuse to repent so we won't lose our pride. We lie. We strategize. We slander others to make ourselves look good. We hurt others in an effort to come out the winner...not the loser.

Eighteen months of loss and I have finally come to realize my losses are not what count. Christ does. Paul knew loss. A man of standing. A Hebrew of Hebrews that threw it all away for the sake of Christ. His example calls us to count all things as loss...garbage, so that we may gain Christ. {Philippians 3:7-11} What I had failed to realize these past months was that God was calling me to what counts. While the losses have been devastating God knew that all I really need is Him. Nothing else matters. The losses are there to make more room for Who really counts.

This year my Word of the Year is Count. Come count with me.