Love One Another

I've been battling a nasty cold this week, which means I haven't been sleeping well. After church, I crawled into bed, clicked on the electric blanket and took a nap. It was wonderful.

But I couldn't get up.

I heard my family moving around the house: the clicking of the dog's toenails on the hallway floor as he searched the house for me, the muffled talk of my husband and children in the living room.

I knew I needed to get up.

If I stayed in bed, I wouldn't be able to sleep later and I'd be up all night. I kicked myself around inside my head, yelled "Get up!", called myself names to try and combat the sinuous lure of sleep and the warmth curled around me. It didn't work. I slipped back into oblivion. Again and again and again.

I needed someone to come wake me.

It wasn't that I didn't know I needed to get up. I did. I just couldn't do it on my own. The pull of the bed was too strong, it felt too good. Even though I knew it would only hurt me, I wasn't able to extract myself from the jaws of slumber.

This week, we learned that a close friend has been leading a double life of sexual sin for several years. It rips my heart out to think of what he and his family are going through right now. I love them all deeply and wish that I had known--that anyone had known--and that he'd been able to reach out and ask for help.

Sometimes life is too much for us to handle on our own and we need to have someone come and wake us, pull us from the lure of what ensnares us. I implore you to be the kind of person who not only asks for help, but who also willingly gives it.

Love one another.