When It Comes To Being The Hero...

 Dear You who is struggling in the trenches today... 

May I just tell you that:  you don't have to be the hero! 

You don't have to prop up the world with all its ache with your two Atlas-arms, holding the weight of it all with all the dogged determination you can muster from within.

You don't have to carry the pounding pain of all that's broken all on your very own.  

You who are sitting in that chemo chair, fighting a hidden enemy inside and trying your best to brave - it's okay to fall apart here and wonder why. It's okay to sit with all your questions and cry for it all to be gone. You can give yourself a moment to admit that your bravery runs out sometimes and that smile is forced. God will understand. I will too. 

You who are locked in a marital dispute of epic proportions you never asked for - you can let yourself scream in the bathroom when nobody's looking and ask how, in all this world, it ever came to this? Whatever happened to "till death do us part?" What kind of empty words are "for better or worse" now? Because all that time ago at the altar, you thought you were starting forever together... and forever just ended. 

You who are sitting in the ER late at night, heart racing with unknowns as you pray for answers and help of any kind for the one you love - nobody will judge (or at least they shouldn't!) if you shake a little, grab air-breaths a little, search for any signs of reassurance, struggle to touch God. These moments are scary. life changing. harsh. And it's more than alright if you say aloud that you're not okay right now and you're wondering if it will ever be. 

You who are carrying that new life within and anticipating an imminent birth - you are seen as you wonder if you'll be enough for that child... as you look towards delivery yet fight off valid worries of if things will go smoothly and everything will turn out alright... as you struggle to trust that your body will do its job and that baby will soon be in your arms to bring you delight and trust you with their life. 

You who are facing complex family dynamics and sit in your car at the local park, letting the tears flow and feeling like you're sinking into depths you never dreamed - you can let yourself mourn in the ashes of a love you may never feel from those who should have given it to you. You can grieve all you need for as long as you need because they. failed. you. And life won't ever be without this scar. You wanted to trust them, but you can't. And now you're trying to find a way forward... on your own. 

You who are sitting on a bridge somewhere wondering if you should jump and just run from all this pain... if the world would be better off without you and this mess you find yourself in - it's more than okay to call someone and ask if they could come get you. To dump it all out in their trusted presence and tell them that you feel meaningless. To sob on their shoulder and bring the hidden things to light so that maybe, just maybe hope can find a way through. 

You who sit in your church-seat each week, dragging a heap of burdens behind you yet feeling as though you can't say them out loud because you'll seem less human or holy - this place is for hurting people like you and every tear you shed goes into God's bottle and is counted as precious to Him. You can ask Him to meet you here in all your shatteredness and know that there is no shame in His presence. There is no blame in His love. And this building of worship just may be a safer place than taking your troubles somewhere else where there is no help of any value. 

All of you... 

Yes, you!

You don't have to be the hero in your own story  - or even in somebody else's - because Jesus was already the hero for you. You can release your need to control... to figure it all out... to fight... to feel alone... to doubt... to rescue... to save yourself or those you love... because One went to the cross and bore the weight of all our brokenness on Himself. In those nail-scarred hands lie our hope of saving. Love reached down and lifted all of us up because God so cared that He would stoop so we could rise. He exchanged a kingly crown for a bloody cross and declared that all dead things no longer had to hold us captive because... there now was a Way out. 

Your hero you're looking for? 

He already came. 

And He's here even now, whispering His hope over you, comforting you with His promise to never leave, looking into your tired eyes and telling you that you are fully known, fully seen, and everlastingly loved. That's why you can quit trying to hold it all together. You can cease striving for answers, struggling for peace. You can hand over all these messy pieces and trust that the Arms that hold together the world are strong and roomy enough for you and your pain, too. 

So now... right now... feel that one breath rush into your heaving lungs and know it is a gift. Hear that little bird sing and believe there will be a tomorrow. Because your Hero is already there, and you can depend on Him to come through.