“I get by with a little help from my friends.”
I know what you’re thinking. The Beatles? Really? After listening to Amy’s inspiring story on Sunday, the most you can come up with is lyrics from a Beatles song?
Sad, isn’t it? But that’s what’s going through my head as I sit down to process what I heard during Celebration. I thought Amy did an incredible job tying her real life account of almost becoming a Hostage to the story laid out in the gospel of Mark 2:1-12.
In both of these tales, a person in desperate need of help had to blindly trust their friends. Think about that for a minute. How many of us get down on our hands and knees to cry out to our heavenly Father, but refuse to let anyone in our Lifegroup know that we’re hurting? How many of us, if we were the paralyzed man mentioned in Mark, would have stayed paralyzed rather than risk the humiliation of openly expressing our needs to our friends? How many of us are just too proud to admit that we need help from anyone?
Funny how we have no problem railing against God for not answering our prayers while we willfully ignore the people he’s placed in our lives to do just that. There have been times in my life when God has revealed himself in miraculous ways. Times that have left me humbled and in awe of a Father that loves me.
But those times haven’t been the norm.
More often than not, I’ve seen His love through a random act of kindness, heard his voice in a phone call, or felt his touch in a handshake. More often than not, God ministers to me, not through signs and wonders, but through the daily interaction of the people surrounding me. People who care about me. People who are my friends.
I think the Beatles had it right on this one. We truly do get by with a little help from our friends.
Make that, “I get by with A LOT of help from my friends”. As our family all lives in Michigan, our group is our family in Ohio.
I like it. Having friends. I’m a guy and I don’t have but one close friend. We have breakfast now and then and talk. Sometimes I ask for advice. I think one on one is the key. The Son talked to the Father.
When you share with a group of people, it gets alittle scary. like who has the best wisdom. Does anyone know of a good plumber?
Tom
I agree with and am encouraged by this blog post! I am curious to hear what ideas others may have on what it looks like to walk this out. To be a person in the LPV community someone can come to and be respected, accepted, and cared for after being totally vunerable and honest – or to be in need and know who you can lean on…
what does that look like in the practical?