Better together

A warning, dear readers: I’m about to climb onto a soapbox. I rarely do that, however, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

Recent tragedies in my small town have touched my life and broken my heart. They’ve also made me think much about community. Old John Donne had it right: no man is an island. We can’t do life alone. As my DH pointed out recently, our deepest human need is for community. (Sorry if I’m misquoting you, honey – I know it was something like that!) My point is simply this: we need each other.

I’ve often seen communities reaching out to help others in times of need and tragedy. And I’ve been the recipient of gracious acts of kindness myself. People are so often good at offering a needed helping hand. What we aren’t very good at is asking for one. Somehow we think we have to be independent, that asking for help makes us weak. It doesn’t. It makes us human.

I guess what I mostly want to say is this: keep reaching out. Keep watching for those who are stumbling under the weight of life’s difficulties, and walk with them. But if it’s you that’s stumbling, if it’s you that feels like you’re going under, tell someone. Say hey, life’s really rough right now and I’m having a hard time.

Sometimes we don’t know who to tell, or we just can’t bring ourselves to admit to our family or friends that we’re struggling. So tell a stranger. Pick up the phone and call a crisis line. In fact, why don’t you look up that number now and stick it on your fridge or doodle it on the front of the phone book, just so you’ve got it. There’s an organization for teens called Your Life Counts! that offers online help, too. Why don’t you check it out now? Bookmark it. Share it on Facebook. Equip yourself and your friends, so someday if you need help, you know where to find it.

Take care of each other. Take care of yourself.

Thanks for reading. Peace….