Collaboration

Collaboration has always been a bit of a struggle for me.

If I'm honest, I typically want all the ideas to come from me.

I want to control every single detail.

I want to receive all the credit.

I want all the praise.

But over time, I have come to learn that collaboration is not only needed, collaboration is good.

When I read Exodus 17:10-13, I am reminded that often one person can't do it all. I'm reminded that sometimes to do a good work, the help of others is required.

"So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword." --Exodus 17:10-13 NIV

When I read 1 Corinthians 12, I am reminded that while I may be proficient at multiple things, I am gifted with excellence in just a few. I've learned that if I link arms with my sisters in Christ, and we are faithful in stewarding our individual gifts, then together, the sum of our contributions is shaped into something beautiful by our Creator.

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." --1 Corinthians 12:12-14

In this season of writing, I've felt God's nudging to collaborate.

With a plate full of projects and demands, I've felt defeated. I have felt like I've let my readers down by not supplying encouragement. And I have felt like I've let God down by not being obedient to His call for me. I've felt Him gently reminding me of my limits, whispering that even Moses needed help.

I'm excited to share that I have listened to the whispers, and I have heeded the nudging. I've asked the Aarons and Hurs in my life to graciously hold up my arms so that together we can do a good work. I've asked these dear friends to join me in the stewarding of our gifts--in encouraging you and pointing you to the freedom and wholeness found in Christ.

I hope you'll join me in the coming months as I introduce you to some of my talented sisters in Christ, some of the ones of whom I admire and look to for personal encouragement. Over the course of the year, each of them will be writing 1-3 pieces for the Pieces of Jessika blog as Guest Bloggers. In an attempt to connect in what feels like an isolated world, each of these sweet friends has also agreed to a LIVE Facebook Q&A with me. This will be a wonderful opportunity for you to pull up a chair to the table. Sit with us. Talk with us. Ask us questions.

This beautiful in-Christ collaboration kicks off this Wednesday, February 24th at 7 PM EST. Stay tuned to the Pieces of Jessika Facebook page for reminders and to the Pieces of Jessika blog for this month's featured guest blogger.