I needed a sister last week. I've been trying to go it on my own...trying to be "independent"...trying not to be needy...not wanting to bother anyone. The strange thing is that when I'm in that mode I can't really even see that I do need help, let alone ask for it. Life becomes a dense gray fog.
When I was a teenager, my mantra was Simon & Garfunkel's "I am a Rock". "...I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain, yes it's laughter and it's loving I disdain.." and "..And a rock feels no pain..and an island never cries" Who was I kidding!!!
It took a phone call last night from a discouraged friend to snap me into reality. We DO need each other...we need a sister (or two) by our side...AND IT'S OKAY! It is not a sin to be weighed down so heavily with burdens that you just need someone to cry with... or perhaps to help you remember those dreams and hopes that seemed so real a few short weeks ago. And often by trying to encourage someone else we find ourselves also lifted.
Life IS hard. We WILL struggle. There will be pain. But we don't need to struggle alone. We have the very presence of God to help us through. We are also blessed with human friends that will respond to our needs IF we make them known. It doesn't matter that they can't "fix" the problem, just knowing they care makes a huge difference.
Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
