From My Heart………………

I just wanted to write a short post on something I think we all need to be reminded of.

Checking up on others.

Not really deep, I know. But oh, so important!

There is a lot of attention placed on mental health in our world today. We have all sorts of ‘helps’ available. We are reminded to ask, “R U OK?”

And before I went through a very dark time in my life a couple years ago, I didn’t even give it a thought. The phrase seemed kind of cliché and unoriginal. But you know, life is a struggle and living gets really hard sometimes. It all seems like an uphill battle. Sometimes you don’t feel like you ever get a win. If that’s the way you feel, then you can be sure that others are feeling the same way too.

You are never the only one going through something. There are hurting people all around us and we have to make a conscious effort to take our eyes off our own problems and look around for other hurting people.

And when we find these people, make it a point to ask them if they’re okay. Sometimes it’s very obvious that they’re NOT okay, but with others, it can be difficult to discern what is going on and whether there really is an issue they are struggling with or whether they may be just having a bad day. But either way, it never hurts to show compassion.

I want to say, before I say anything else, that I give God all the glory for delivering me from my pit of despair. I know that it was Him that pulled me up from the depths and set my feet firmly back upon the rock. I know that God was the one that held me in His arms throughout the whole trial. His words were the comfort to my soul that I desperately needed. He was my shelter from the storm.

But God chooses to use people. He chooses to reach down and touch hearts and impress upon people to help others. He guides them to know the words to speak. The actions to take. He could do it all by himself, but He knows that sometimes, we just need a physical, tangible, compassionate human being that we can see with our eyes and hear with our ears and touch with our hands.

Remember the story of Lazarus in the Bible. God chose to use people to roll away the stone. He chose to use people to unwrap the grave clothes and loose him. He wanted to use people to work alongside Him in His miracle working. He didn’t need to. But He chose to.

And so, God sends people into our lives to help us up when we’ve fallen. They come alongside, speaking words of comfort. Drawing our attention to words of scripture that will encourage our hearts. That will lift our spirits. That will remind us of God’s goodness.

So, speaking personally, when I was in what I felt was a desperate situation, with the only light in the tunnel being a train hurdling down the tracks towards me, God sent special friends along. They encouraged me daily, with text messages and verses of scripture. They checked in on me, day after day. They listened to me cry. They had compassion on me. They didn’t just speak words of kindness, but they had kindness in their hearts and a love for me that was evident in their actions. They didn’t just stop with “R U OK?”. They put feet to their words.

And you know, those friendships have grown and flourished. They were the ones that were there in my time of deepest need. And if it taught me anything, it was that I needed to develop a heart of compassion. A heart of compassion like they showed me. I needed to learn from them what it meant to be a true friend. I had never been the type of person that needed anyone. I was strong. And expected that of everyone else. But when my world came crashing down, I couldn’t keep up the facade any longer. I needed help. And I needed friends. And God sent them along, just at the right time. And He helped them to know just what to say. Or not to say.

Just a little heads up. It’s not only the weak and weary and sick that need checking up on. Strong people need looking in on too. You know why? Because the strong ones are usually carrying their own stuff too. Not only are they carrying the burdens of all the weaker ones, as they become the ‘everybody’s go-to person’, but they are also carrying their own loads and are sometimes weighed down by issues that they don’t speak aloud.

So, if you see someone hurting or in need of encouragement, stop and write that text. Make that phone call. Give that hug. Bring them before the Lord in earnest prayer.  You never know what it could mean to someone and what it could do to raise their spirits. God could be choosing to use you to lift them up. God uses imperfect people to strengthen and encourage other imperfect people to become more like Him and to grow in spiritual maturity and bring glory to His name.

Galatians 6:2

 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.