It's Okay to Lean on Others
Are you someone that others consider "a rock in the storm?"
Are you the designated listener when your friends need to vent?
Do you value independence such that you don't have an easy time asking for help?
In college, I had the opportunity to follow a career missionary to the remote jungles of Peru, where we shared the bible orally with a group of believers who were largely illiterate. It was an amazing experience and I'll never forget what the older seasoned missionary shared with our group.
As we set up our tents for a week of roughing it, we watched him begin to cook dinner for our group. He had brought crates of food, canned goods and pasta, and other non-perishables for us to eat on our trip. And while we had prepared to eat protein bars for dinner, he made us a lovely pot of chili over a campfire. With a wry smile on his face, he told us:
"God doesn't give you brownie points for suffering needlessly."
Remember that when you are struggling.
God has gifted you with community. Community with wisdom, resources, and listening ears to spare. When you feel tempted to suffer in silence, to not be a burden on anyone else, know that it is okay to lean on others from time to time.
Rev. Melanie Vaughn-West, the minister who officiated our wedding, preached on this beautiful passage out of Ecclesiastes:
"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken." – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Rev. Melanie summed this passage up like this: "Humans are pack animals."
We were made for community and we are stronger together than we are apart. Sometimes that means you are the giver, but it is a gift to the community to be a receiver as well, to allow others to be blessed by giving.
I pray that you may know the joy of both giving and receiving in community today.
Kelsey Vincent, Pastor for Youth and Families, First Baptist Church of Decatur