(You can watch this message on Youtube HERE)We believe that if you teach people to share their blessings and their bruises, to connect with love and empathy, we can eradicate isolation in the world. We believe this not because we just woke up and thought of a good mission statement. I’ve been praying over this ministry since before it had anything. Before we had a logo. The only thing that God had given me at that point was actually, that’s it, the logo. That’s all I had. I had this vision that God showed me to share, and I took exactly what that vision looked like and I tattooed it on my arm. And I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be. Matter of fact, I thought at first it was going to be a restaurant. I thought, share the restaurant. And honestly, I think that that’s probably still going to happen at some point one day. But from there, it’s become very, very, very clear that he wants me to teach people how to share, and the only way to share, the only way to teach someone to share, is to go first. And so for years, I have been going first. For years, I have been sharing my story, The Good, the Bad, the uncomfortable for people to listen to, the hard things, for people to know, whether it’s hurts or breaks my mom’s heart to hear, I have had to share things that have been difficult, and I have been able to share things that are blessings. So my blessings and my bruises were the ways that I began to share first. Now, as God continues to lead me through my own very difficult situation, it has just become more and more clear that he’s given me a tool to teach people to share their blessings and their bruises, to connect with love and empathy through something that I’m calling SHAREapy and SHAREapy is intentional faith based connection to ultimately build community one relationship at a time. And I believe in this mission, and I cannot stop this mission. I don’t care what I lose, I don’t care what I’m going through, I have to keep going. I believe in this with the world the way it is today. Everything about the world is designed to separate us and to tear us apart and to tear us down and to disconnect us and to point out our differences. And that’s why I realized at some point that that’s why I got this vision to share years ago, because God knew that all of this was on the way that the season of isolation and solitude and disconnection was just on the way. And so I feel grateful for the season of suffering that I’ve gone through. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel grateful for it, I feel grateful for it because it’s opened my eyes to a different level of pain that I didn’t know existed, and now that’s a level that I can connect with people at. I didn’t understand what grief looked like until I walked with my best friend through losing her husband of 54 years. And so I’m just in awe of what God continues to do, even though my season is not over, it’s been very clear that he’s told me that it’s time, it’s time to focus, it’s time to share, it’s time to get the word out. It’s time to write and publish and post and do all the things. So that’s what I’m doing, that’s it. That’s all I’m doing, that’s all I’m focused on. And even though there’s days that I can’t get out of bed, those days I spend studying, even though there’s days that I can’t like, mentally block out the pain, it’s those days that I just spend in prayer for other people that are going through something. More than what I’m going through. And so I know that God has used every single ounce of my suffering in this season, every single stress that I felt, every bit of stress that I’ve felt, and I just cannot wait to continue to walk with people, to continue to do life with people, to continue to see and hear the stories, to give voice to people who have suffered in solitude and isolation for too long.
I almost didn’t make it out of my season. And I can tell you that isolation is designed to destroy you. Isolation is designed to separate you from the love of God, to separate you from the love of other people, to make you feel like you’re the only one in the world that is feeling this way. And those things are just not true. The fact that people are scared to talk to each other, people are scared to connect with each other. It is all a design of the enemy to send us into these caves of disconnection, where our minds can do all the work for the insecurity and the fear and just continue to spin up those things. We need each other to hear how similar we all are, but yet the world continues to drive this narrative that we’re so different, and I just don’t believe that. I just know it to not be true. So I can’t stop. I can’t stop what I’m doing. I’ve already lost everything. I don’t have anything else to lose, except my home at this point. But I can’t stop. I can’t stop, no matter what. This is too important, and there’s just too many people that are suffering and alone and lonely, and think that they’re the only ones in the world that are feeling this way. And there’s too many people that just don’t know what to say, they don’t know how to help. They don’t know that God is here to conquer all of it. So I just feel like it’s just too important. I feel like this ministry is a matter of life and death, and so I just can’t stop, and I don’t want to stop, and I won’t stop. And I’m just more and more often going to rely on people that believe that God is too big and that he has written a blueprint for us in the Bible on how to connect and how to do life and how to eradicate isolation.
Eradicate isolation is what he’s told me to do. I mean, it’s too big for me to do. So it can’t be my idea. It’s not like I hear that and I think, yeah, totally, this is exactly the way. I don’t think that. I think that only God can do that, and if he wants to use us to do that one connection at a time, then we’re here for it, and we’ll be here for it, and we’ll keep going. So what I need is prayers. I need your prayers. However it is that God puts on your heart to support, the only way to get there is through prayer. And it is so much more powerful than we even realize. The power of prayer. I need prayers for my pain. It has gotten worse, even though I feel more encouraged than I have ever felt in my life, my pain is worse than it’s ever been, probably, and I need provision, and those are the things that I need God’s help with. In the meantime, I will continue to wake up every day and pursue this vision in Jesus name. That’s it.
Thank you for reading/listening! In this current season, I am unable to work due to my physical disabilities and acute chronic pain and my work comp disability income does not cover my basic life expenses. This IS the best I can do for work and walking with people is the most important work I have ever done. Anything you donate goes straight towards providing for myself and my daughter. God has been so good to us over the years and it’s people like you that He’s used to help keep us from losing our home or going without… thank you for your prayers and support. It means the world to us. (See below for ways to help)
❤️,
joelif you need prayer or want to contact me to start some SHAREapy, email me! Joel@wehavetoshare.com
to support:Cashapp: $wehavetoshare
Zelle: j.d.barnes7@gmail.com
Venmo: @joeldavidbarnes
