#WeeklyDoseofBRI. : Storytelling Week 3, #InspirationalSONday Edition.

Hello There, Dearly Beloved!

Thanks so much for tuning into the first edition of #InspirationalSONday! So, I am going to give you a little bit of background as to why I chose to feature inspirational posts, (which don't necessarily have to be posted on Sunday) just so you can feel like you're in the "know" of what's going on with the management around here. Here are the first things you should know about me, my name is Briana and I am a Christian, a believer of Jesus Christ and God above, and I attend church every Sunday faithfully. Now, me saying this doesn't make me any better than the next person, I am just as flawed and in need of improvement. With that being said, I receive small nuggets from the messages I receive each Sunday at church; what I like to call SoulFOOD. This food for the soul is what I use to get me through the day, and to reflect upon when I, or someone else, needs it the most.

This #InspirationalSONday post will be discussing John the Baptist and Jesus and The Followers of Jesus. In each of these stories, coming from the second chapter of Mark, there is the continuation of the story of Jesus and the ways individuals were starting to see just what He was capable of. In the story of John the Baptist, we read about a wise, well respected man that knew that Jesus was coming and that Jesus was greater and more powerful than he could ever be. In the next story, there is the vision of Jesus traveling into a small town, and healing people of their ailments, both large and small.

After reading these two stories and pulling out key points that stuck with me, I found myself interpreting the stories in a way that people living in today's world can understand. Too often we find ourselves looking down at others or sticking our nose up at things that may be going on in their lives, or simply looking down at the exterior, not understanding the interior that created it. Sometimes we find ourselves having that little thought in our minds saying, "great, that's one thing that puts me ahead of that person." Through all of these thoughts, does it ever dawn on us that this world God created and all of these people that Jesus bled and died for... is enough? That this world is big enough to have all of the success that each of us needs without tearing the other person down, or thinking that we're better than someone else. In the story of Jesus and his Followers, after healing so many people and being such a popular man in town, he still had the mind to show compassion and sit down and eat with the publicans and sinners like you and me. When asked why he was doing this, he simply responded by saying, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Wow. And just like that, it is all made clear. Focusing on those that truly aren't in need and then excluding those desperate for love doesn't fix the problem(s) at hand. We have to share love, uplift our neighbors and support one another.

Motto of the day: Love thy neighbor as thy loves thyself.