Through the Stillness

Something happened and I can find no meaning and absolutely no good in it.  I struggle when I cannot find peace in a situation.  When there is seemingly nothing I can do to help I ache. I feel broken. I feel weak. I know to turn to prayer. The part I struggle with and always need to remind myself is that sometimes all I can do is pray.  I cannot help in every situation.  I am not meant to.

Suicide, is on my mind. I cannot help but to think it may be  one of the saddest things in this world. I also cannot help but to think the pressure to always be strong is to blame.  We worship strength in this world. Those who push the limits and never succumb to weakness are seen as great.  Those who, when faced with trials, keep their heads held high and refuse to fall are the ones we admire.

People feel ashamed for not being able to handle things on their own. Well, guess what? We are wrong to want to always be strong. I am not saying we shouldn’t push through difficult situations.  No, sometimes we have to in order to survive.  What I am saying is, it is okay to embrace your weaknesses. Maybe that is where real strength is found. It is okay to say you can’t do it on your own. It is okay to need help.

People get trapped in their darkness. They feel there is no way out. We can easily say, we would never do it.  But then, we have never been in their shoes. We don’t really talk about suicide because we don’t know what to say.  We may state our opinions but that usually does nothing to help. We have no idea.  I have no idea. I’m not saying I could have prevented the recent suicide I am speaking of.  No, unfortunately I could not have because I had no idea the struggle this person was going through. But, what if we talked about the real issue?  What if we broke this mindset of having to hold our own?

I don’t think we need to announce our weaknesses to the world. Some people don’t like talking about the things that bother them the most, I know I don’t. But, what if we started by just admitting them to ourselves and to God?  I think He could work in us and through us more if we did. I bet we would be able to sympathize with others more.  I bet we’d stop judging others for their weaknesses. I bet we’d offer more help and accept more help from God and from those God places in our lives.

The end.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” —2 Corinthians 12:9-10