Dear Church, Please Carry Us to Jesus

My life came apart at the seams. Everything precious unraveled, and I was left with a mess and an ocean of pain. Some days I find it really difficult to fix my eyes on Jesus. The chaos of my new life and the grief of my broken marriage overwhelm me. It’s all-consuming, honestly. And it seems like the hurts keep coming, even years later. 

It’s so much easier to look down at my circumstances than up at Jesus. It is a battle to keep looking up. And I know so many women in our community feel the same. Dear Church, we need your help. Jesus is our Man of Sorrows, our God with us. He understands the sorrow of betrayal and abandonment. He endured suffering to the utmost on the cross. But he overcame. And now he sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us so that we will endure to the end. 

Oh, Church, how desperately we need Jesus! It might feel like you need to do something extraordinary to help and support us, but the best thing you can do for us is to gently carry us to Jesus, over and over again. You can do this in so many simple ways…
* Pray for us regularly
* Mail a card with an encouraging Scripture you’ve clung to in the past
* Sit with us at church so it’s easier for us to be there
* Share your own story of God’s faithful care during a season of suffering
* Weep and lament with us
* Be the hands and feet of Jesus by helping in practical ways (take the car for an oil change, join us for a walk, remember and acknowledge the difficult anniversaries, babysit our kids…)
* Sing with all your heart at church—sometimes we just need to listen and be encouraged
* Hang on to hope for us

Jesus, our Man of Sorrows and Conquering King, is everything we need. Point us to him—it’s the most precious gift you can give. Call us to lift our eyes up and to fix our gaze on the One who knows, sees, and loves. Thank you for striving to love us well, even in our brokenness. It means more than you could ever know.