%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 25 0 R /I4 26 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250403132115+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250403132115+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1765 >> stream xWrD+T9޶g0d(I `іVO$G|@˹-;PIu>="8ˣ/xjeŚj*d#FAj7yN/^?,/(8dI6(u-()7ܟfB-apÛE/'rEe%1rqޣo(yMe-M%N|wj\fl8lcOSI,ub/y!7 ׇ%UF|%x/(I_bFzlu[+i^p/ 4*#K;;'{j0;t'igtGF?Nt"$C*Zm'Jq.=S(MC,Y'dhd--[*`],bUӦN鞄={ڲ5Xң'ڏIIϰvHO/-oO7\K\dUBVQZRg6 A {`k!hLB#T#'ۖ&="m!=XթX)CdՀR+H9:H#y$J;%P1 o(KBum~fj߸_JA ;@YIot}67s)K}G3eU?s:gᏒ8R\?(iJi==8m'Rb kY5CI e P 5>^say(٦"@N|VTD1s <>># y(]T:Q>(ОfD{Qr;e[eU;"fZѩز2A|&B,&D/|7V .i ?sCqOט>ލZ} 4k)YGc7pW _>eZn|b)sbaVL/Mh׀WW2 ?X bF,DޯìbFI ![F Ǐ˰|4 4s׏'QGC&kZ!E?^qjB.Ta }tT09igaktuKͷ&.BY}s9x@Eq;~W}4MnӋmyDSغ endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 23 0 R ] /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1611 >> stream xW]o6}ϯ+0ݽۺ.Ebh@KFU@_Sw$vq[ u?9EJ; 9~_\=ik3@A@ů+a"/hU!h!zzO7Nt*% YڕszbSQ g+=ƪW<{r*}H֦RL[)z[[Eݔδ*x Mqk4["2NJL4 _6#kjJ ߵYb9O<1=YftMi>;ZJ+$Sjdg[ZLMڒN}NqޥMAPvNUhިK_@i"(ٲMoiW3Syqo.Y s?0~oڕ6+B*9rKmXNu5oé0 ΍%ԪnrZ],I ;%W\ z]J,FbWav̗mGC´Qʑh{MCl\8quAkNj`, ;50֝U# ˶JW8lrSYYgycSc lRӬu<n?r1ȵSUu$ c{_02{֘UqdtZ7D}UžHnm;ӷ34Wkɩn}р{a>4O~9ZkX ebF AnX)Fn `aס>H0w<ywyfO8p#L}hDF Ƶh!4m*xZ*q ",[mPW'̎|lᣫCˡ$`[5Omgjmսye^4Z[i|рć ca: W^F€c݌sPI|0'^QOsê۳r A=;K|8Dc¤w8j0쐂KyfR.xy9W:? _RПj4Ԡ|pDłX@ 6qYX'נ|gKj&<Y.l?@bD^uB恊4>Zp(ε Y-_c0-[&%IǸ'KK$ft{w~ /"D8#N  endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 24 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 479.4760 300.1724 573.6640 312.3824 ] >> endobj 24 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (mailto:ewikle@mac.com) >> endobj 25 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 27 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000002588 00000 n 0000002695 00000 n 0000002803 00000 n 0000002913 00000 n 0000003026 00000 n 0000003142 00000 n 0000003171 00000 n 0000003281 00000 n 0000008856 00000 n 0000009987 00000 n 0000010046 00000 n 0000010105 00000 n 0000010229 00000 n 0000011914 00000 n 0000011971 00000 n 0000012028 00000 n 0000012156 00000 n 0000012229 00000 n 0000017804 00000 n trailer << /Size 27 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 18935 %%EOF Sharper focus- Expect more | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Sharper focus- Expect more

August 23, 2011
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

By Erin Wikle, Soldier

I often hear: “I come from a broken family. I’ve really been through a lot.”

This statement usually precedes a barrage of information as a broken person pours out a tale of sexual abuse, neglect at an early age, and sordid stories of hardcore and even prescription drug abuse. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard this. If it weren’t for Jesus, I’d say this was a textbook tale straight from a textbook loser.

Praise God for Jesus.

It’s surprising (even to me) that I take comfort in the sameness of the stories I hear. I’m reminded that it’s the enemy who’s the real loser, and that in all his existence, he’s still workin’ the same angle, stirrin’ up the same trouble, and up to the same no good. He’s predictable and doesn’t have a single creative bone in his spineless body.

Frequently, over an awkward meal in our small dining room at our even smaller dining table, someone recounts to us, with great humility, the missteps of their life. It’s a beautiful thing. Messy and with much detail, but beautiful nonetheless.

And just below the surface of the deep, I see something even more beautiful than the honesty and humility that seep from the story: expectation.

Here’s what I appreciate about living, worshipping and loving on those with less than $5 in their bank account on any given day, who quit Oxycontin but not yet cigarettes, and who don’t fear rejection because it’s all they’ve ever known: they’re needy—and they know it.

Tina, four months pregnant with her third child, said no to cocaine because she realized no matter how much she shot up, she still felt useless and unloved. She admitted to her need for something more.

Richard, 25, broke the cycle of manipulation and sexual compulsion because he realized no matter how many women he slept with, he still felt empty and alone. He cried out for something more.

Maria, sexually abused by her step-dad and driven to drug use at a painfully early age, was rescued by Salvation Army leaders who chose to live among people just like her. She dropped her guard and realized her need for something more.

You see, I don’t believe hitting rock bottom is a requisite to having an amazing, legitimately life-changing encounter with God. I believe those who do hit rock bottom (whether by choice or because they were chosen) are perfectly positioned to experience Jesus. What better position than face down, at the feet of your Savior.

While I weep for the deeply wounded, addicted and broken with whom I share little in common, I also weep over the many friends of mine with whom I share everything in common: a well-paying, steady job, good children who are well kept and excel in their age group, good, decent husbands who work hard and treat their families well, and a nice home filled with delicious smells and teeming with all the necessities for any well-to-do modern, American family. We “middle-classers” don’t see our need for more because we need nothing more. I weep because I see so many who “have it all” yet still have nothing. I weep for those who once chose Jesus, but soon after chose their mortgages, families, careers and even churches instead.

I want more compassion. I want more patience. I want more love for those who I find slightly harder to love. I want nothing of the world and the promise for something greater. I want more of Christ because he is greater. I want to share closeness with my Lord more intimate than the love I share with my husband. I want security in Jesus over security from my savings account.

God sees the same mess in my spirit as he did in Tina, Richard and Maria. He sees no separation between those with “stability” in the world’s eyes and those without. Instead, he sees a deep need in each of us for life more abundant. Expect more of Christ; his kingdom is yours.

Read Matthew 5.

To learn how you can support the ministry of The Salvation Army in Lebanon, Tenn.—OneLife—contact Chris and Erin Wikle at ewikle@mac.com.

 

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like