March 19, 2018

It Takes A Community

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

– Ecclesiastes 4:12

The small white calf stood on the wrong side of the barbed wire fence. I quickly pressed the brakes and turned around, heading back toward the disaster-waiting-to-happen. No one needed a wreck caused by a wayward calf in the road.

Another woman had already pulled over. She was a city-girl who’d somehow found herself living in a nearby country town. She liked cows. She just didn’t know anything about them. That was obvious when she explained that she’d tried to pet the calf but he ran from her. Newsflash: This calf was not an escapee from the petting zoo.

I decided I might need to hang around. My cousin had already called the owner (Who is married to another cousin. It’s a small-town thing.) I realized it would take him at least 30 minutes to arrive. I settled in to talk to my new “friend.”

The little calf decided the grass might be greener on the other side of the road. The woman and I quickly sprang into action, stopping traffic in both directions and herding the calf around a bend and away from the road. Another couple pulled off the highway and hurried to help.

We managed to corner the calf just as Mama Cow arrived. My new friend wanted no part of Mama Cow and backed off. With the couple’s help, we “encouraged” the calf to go back under the fence and to safety. Disaster averted.

It took all of us to make it happen. Have you ever attempted to force a wayward calf to go where you want him to? I have. It’s something only America’s Funniest Home Videos would enjoy. But with the help of others, we were able to herd the calf to safety.

That’s how life is. Some things are just hard or impossible when we’re struggling to get through them on our own. We need help. We need someone who understands. We need to know that we aren’t alone.

A dear friend talks about getting devastating news about her son. He’d done something awful and was sitting in a jail cell. Her heart was shattered. A friend came to her house and refused to leave. The friend sat with her, silently, as time passed slowly by. No words could alleviate her pain but the support of someone just being there helped her get through that time of shock and heartbreak.

Another friend talks about the stack of cards that she treasures. They are a visual reminder of the love and prayers that have surrounded her as she fights cancer. In these days when she can’t always safely be around others because of her weakened immune system, those cards tell her that she isn’t alone. She is loved. She is strengthened by the presence of others.

Friends take away our loneliness. They encourage us and advise us, laugh and cry with us. We were never meant to do life alone. It takes a community of believers to navigate this world and withstand the temptations and trials all around us. We are strengthened by the presence of others. We are blessed by community.