People

I'm coming to realize how much I need people. I guess it's one of those things that God revealed to me a couple of years ago, and now I'm learning more and more about how much of a need it is. I've really come to hate the way that I carry myself when I'm alone all the time. I'm secluded, shut off to people, shut off to conversation. I wouldn't want to be around that kind of Rick.

This is one of the reasons I asked Stacy to marry me. I NEED her. One of the great things about her is that she gives me confidence. Confidence in my youth ministry, confidence in my music, and just overall-everyday confidence. I'm not talking about spiritual security, like the kind only Jesus can give. I'm talking about the confidence to be a man. To provide, to produce, to love Jesus - that kind of confidence. On a similar note, when she and I are working through some tough issues, and I know that our intimacy will be temporarily on hold, it cramps my style. But when things are well, or we've resolved our issues, I'm full to the top.

I also need my Christian brothers and sisters. I need them to remind me how much of a joy it is to follow Jesus, because if we're honest, we all forget that at some point - particularly when life is tough. There's no greater joy than to go to a friend (or spouse/fiance), share a struggle, and be encouraged to follow Jesus because of their faith. No one friend's faith will be EXACTLY like the other's, and that's what keeps me pressing on sometimes. The diversity of it all.

Thirdly, I need time with non-Christians. They may not be able to encourage me spiritually, but they do keep me in tap with reality. I don't spend time with these kinds of people nearly as much as I should, especially being in full-time "church" ministry. But that's no excuse. Even though my "job" is to shepherd people within the church, I still need relationships with non-Christians.