Sound of Surviving Blog

I recently found a box full of cards from family and friends, and then there were cards from people I barely knew, and some from people I had never met. It was from when I first had my brain surgery and stroke during surgery back in 2008. I was wowed, most of these I had never seen, as I was mostly asleep all the time, recovering, when they were sent. And I started thinking to myself, “Wow, I wish I had all this support when I was dealing with the side effects of my tumor and stroke.” Yes, I had a lot of family and friends who continued to lend support for years after this all happened, but most, after sending their well wishes, I scarcely heard from them. It got me thinking, “Don’t we all do this in life?” We reach out to someone to let them know we’re thinking of them during a hard time or an illness, etc., but after it passes, we never think to reach out and see how they’re doing with life, later on. I know I myself, am guilty of this. As Christians we are called to help others in need, and I think this can be anyone and everyone, not just those who we can see are physically in need. Life is hard, and exhausting, more so than not. But no one should ever walk this journey alone. We are called to help one another, to lift one another up in prayer and through words and actions. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul reminds us of this, saying, “Therefore encourage one another, and build each other up.” I feel like a lot of times, we all get so busy and caught up in our own lives, and with all the things we have to do, that we don’t see the needs of our brothers and sisters right in front of us. These needs aren’t always visible, or even things that people want us to know, but they’re still there. We need to ask God to give us his eyes, and ears, and his heart, to not just see, but to lift others up in his love.