Created to Be Together
As I sat listening to Sunday’s sermon on the importance of small groups; I realized that part of the message can be applied to surviving medical mayhem. Whether you are the caregiver or the care receiver, the bible shares some wonderful insights on survival. I’d like to share one of them with you today.
God created us to travel this journey together. Even God of the bible describes himself as a community of persons – The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
While our nation was built on stalwart individualism, the ability to venture into the unknown on our own; the problem arises because we were not built to travel on our own. From the very beginning, God not only created Adam but Eve to travel together “in love, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.” We are wired to be together. The need to belong is so strong it is in our DNA. There is lots of clinical and scientific research and evidence that loneliness increases the risk of premature mortality.
So, if this is the case, why do we try to live life alone? Shame.
Shame is the fear of connection and fear of being found unworthy. We often do life alone because we are “not worthy”. There is a message that runs in our heads that says – “I am not _____________ enough. I am not strong enough. I am not smart enough. I am not thin, capable, talented, beautiful, rich, enough” And what drives this feeling is a feeling of vulnerability. While guilt is an appropriate feeling when we make a mistake; shame is the feeling that when you make a mistake you ARE a mistake. “I am not worthy to belong”. “I am not able enough to care for someone” or “I am not worthy to be cared for.”
But God created us in His own image and while we are certainly a work in progress, God’s love for us is eternal and everlasting. He is a part of us and we of Him and we are called to share our beliefs and faith with those around us.
It is in those times we must remember that “Not everyone is good at everything, but everyone is good at something”. Finding your gift and your limits is a worthy cause and one that God asks us to do for ourselves and one another.
I am writing all this because there are times when I have felt so alone in my caregiving and my need to remain in control that I have failed to acknowledge the person God created me to be. God created us to be in community, to share the burdens as well as the fruits of the harvest.
The bible tells us:
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)
So while my pastor listed four excellent points to being in small groups, here are the same points for surviving and thriving through medical mayhem:
- Two are better than one because there is a good reward for their toil. They are both enriched by the journey together.
- If one should fail, the other will lift them up. Giving and receiving help both produce blessings.
- When two lie together they keep one another warm. There is comfort when life doesn’t go as planned.
- When medical mayhem strikes, two or more provides strength to survive the storm.
So whether you are drowning in a medical tsunami, or watching someone struggling with the same, don’t hide away from everyone, but reach out and grab a hold of God and one another and together you will lift each other out of the storm.
For “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Thank you for reading my post. If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it. Feel free to comment here or even re-blog – may these words take flight!
I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts. To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com
Blessings for Health & Wellness.