Hi Friends,
In this once-again “busy” month of May, as things are revving back up and graduations and end-of-school and summer vacations and other fun things start happening, I’m aware that maybe you’re not fine yet. The pandemic has taken a toll on many of us. If that’s the case for you or for someone you love, please enjoy (and share) this excerpt from From Recovery to Restoration: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in Crisis.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Ecclesiastes 4:9, NLT
I guess I could blame it on my daughter. She put the idea in my head. It all started when I texted my two girls, asking them to pray because I was going to the doctor to have twenty-five staples removed from my hip. Both agreed to pray, and my younger daughter, who, as a counselor, knows the best methods for dealing with pain and stress, reminded me to take something to squeeze. Good idea, I thought.
There was just one problem. I didn’t have one of those squishy de-stresser balls. But now I was committed to squeezing, so I decided to make one. Searching my pantry for something soft, I found an old bag of mini-marshmallows. I quickly grabbed a few large handfuls and stuffed them in a snack-sized plastic bag, squeezed the air out, and sealed it. Voilá! DYI de-stresser ball! I tucked my homemade squishy ball into my jacket pocket and headed out the door.
Unfortunately, I had not anticipated the X-ray tech’s request that I empty my pockets before my scan. I tried to quickly stuff my makeshift squishy ball behind my purse, but I’m pretty sure she saw it and is still wondering about the peculiar woman who carries around a snack-sized bag of mini-marshmallows.
How did I come to be this woman—a woman who frantically stuffs a bag of mini-marshmallows into her pocket before a doctor’s appointment? I think the problem started with “being fine.” Like many people recovering from crisis, when asked how I was doing, I’d say, “I’m fine.” When friends asked me how they could help, I’d say, “I’m fine.” But, like many people recovering from crisis, I was not, in fact, “fine.”
The wisdom of Ecclesiastes is that we are not at all fine when we are trying to walk alone. Two are better than one, and three are better than two. Another person can offer us a hand to squeeze when staples are being removed; two friends can accompany us to the divorce lawyer’s office; the whole church can work together to mow our lawn, clean our house, and pay our bills when our loved one is dying of cancer. As members of the body of Christ, we are called to bear the burdens of the weak and to be stronger together (Galatians 6:2).
Dear friend, let my mini-marshmallow tale be a lesson to you: don’t be fine when you’re not. Discover the peace and hope that come from asking for and receiving help. Let your burdens be borne by those called to carry them. One day, when you are “more fine,” you will know the joy of extending a helping hand to someone who needs to squeeze it.
Prayer
Dear Jesus,
We confess, we are often not “fine” as we walk through this season. Thank you for sending physical hands to hold us and help us in our time of need. Give us the courage to ask for and receive help. In your kind name we pray, Amen.
Further Encouragement
Read Ecclesiastes 4:7-12; Galatians 6:2.
Listen to “Kindness” by Sandra McCracken.
For Reflection
Do you have the tendency to say “I’m fine” when you’re not? What specific help could you ask for or accept in this season?
