We need each other. As social beings, we need one another as partners in marriage, in work, in friendship, and in life. That is no more true than when we’re faced with a disaster.
One couple who survived Katrina described to me how, when they experienced their most negative thoughts (e.g., “God helped you before, but not this time”), they helped each other through. When one partner felt depressed, the other supported them. Even on rare occasions, when both felt low, their teen daughter challenged them to stronger faith. “Two are better than one,” says Ecclesiastes four, “because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”
Job’s friends enjoy a deservedly bad rap for their counseling technique: blame the victim. They nevertheless stick with him. His wife, seemingly unsupportive early on, also stays with him to the end. The friends support him long enough for him to avoid suicide, to talk out how he feels, and, even when rebelling, to help keep his mind focused on God.
What are you facing alone? Are you telling yourself no one will understand? Why not find and use some social support?
