What brought me to BridgeWay on May 22, 2022 was Google Maps. That is how I made it funny and traumatized Bear in the process. After 2ish years of a season of healing outside of a physical church in Puerto Rico, God planted me at BridgeWay to learn how to be a healthy member of a healthy church. That summer I learned what BridgeWay was all about: Get FULL, walk in our SHAPE, and be Spiritually FAT. (This was NOT what Bear had in mind as the summary of his teaching.) Recently, it has been packaged as “Finding the treasure inside of you”. As I look outside at the snow falling on the ground, I pondered what this has looked like over the years.
Finding the treasure inside of me wasn’t really about discovering something new. It was about walking out what I already knew about myself in a healthy way. I discovered early on that the desire I had from 2012 to hear God’s voice and bless others with words of encouragement was still there. I found a place to dust off gifts that I had nowhere to show, like worship and songwriting gifts. I had done some creative work in the past, but now I enjoyed the benefit of the accountability I always craved.
Finding the treasure inside of me has been about replacing the labels previously used for what is inside me with whatever God says about it. Back in the day, my attempts at utilizing my gift-mix were poorly received but I grew despite that. Now, because of the culture of “there is space for everyone here”, I can focus on being sensitive to what God says is needed for each season without the threat of something being taken away. Instead, God took me through a journey to learn to give something up so I can focus on what God had in store for me next.
Finding the treasure inside of me has been a journey with God towards greater authenticity. It has been about looking at my life-data through God’s eyes and adopting God’s narrative about it. It has been about being able to share experiences that I would normally hide (and sometimes deny) with the peace and safety that only God brings. It has been about feeling okay to use language in a way that accurately displays who I am and the vibe I naturally have. It has been about accepting the fullness of how my brain operates. That God wants me to fulfill His metrics in the way that is sustainable for each moment.
Finding the treasure inside of me has been about going through the purification process to eliminate all the unhealthiness that has made that treasure not pure. God calls out things that clutters the display of that treasure and provides a way forward to sustainably get rid of it.