I recently had the privilege of speaking at a summer youth camp, sharing parts of my personal testimony. The camp’s theme was "Stronger Together," and as I prepared my heart and my words for those young people, I found myself reflecting on what those two words actually mean in the quiet, daily reality of our lives.
For me, "stronger together" isn't a modern
self-help slogan or a catchy camp theme. It is a biological, emotional, and
spiritual truth. It is the very reason I am still here to tell my story.
Looking back over the last 17 years since the unexpected
tragedy that changed my life, I realize that surviving, healing, and continuing
to grow has required an entire ecosystem of people. God never designed us to
walk this earth as isolated islands, yet we so often try to do exactly that.
To understand why we must stand together, we have to look at
two fundamental truths: the fragile nature of our earthly existence, and the
divine blueprint for our relationships.
The Vapor of Life and the Suddenness of Change
These concepts are not new. They are as ancient as scripture
itself. We live our lives making plans for next week, next year, or our
retirement, forgetting how thin the veil truly is between our normal routine
and a completely different reality.
The Bible pulls no punches when describing how quickly our
earthly status can shift. In the book of James, we are reminded of just how
fleeting our time here is:
James 4:14 "Whereas ye know not what shall be
on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a
little time, and then vanisheth away."
Our life is a vapor. A flash in the pan. A breath in the
wind, so quick to be gone.
My own history began with a sudden, tragic accident—a moment
that instantly divided my life into "before" and "after."
When I spoke to the youth at camp, I wanted them to understand a hard but
necessary truth: tragedy does not have an age limit. It does not wait
for you to grow up, finish school, get married, or feel "ready." It
doesn't respect our timelines.
But as I’ve shared before, it doesn’t even take a
massive, dramatic tragedy to completely rewrite the course of your life. It can
happen in the middle of a completely normal, everyday event.
Years ago, during my initial recovery at a hospital in
Atlanta, Georgia, I looked around at the other patients sharing the
rehabilitation unit with me. Some of them were there, like you might expect,
due to high-impact car accidents or traumatic gunshot wounds. But others were
there because of things so mundane, so ordinary, that you would never think
twice about them:
- One
patient was there simply because they tripped over a loose shoelace.
- Another
was wearing a favorite knitted sweater, and as they stood up from a porch
swing, a single button got caught causing the wooden swing to hit her where
her neck and head meet.
A loose string. A snagged button.
These were not daredevils or people taking massive risks.
They were just living a normal day, and in a fraction of a second, an ordinary
moment turned into a life-altering catastrophe. If our lives can hinge on
something as small as a shoelace or a button, how can we possibly think we are
strong enough to walk this path alone?
The Divine Rescue of Community
Because our lives are so fragile, and because the unexpected
is always just around the corner, God built a safety net into the very
fabric of creation: each other.
When my accident happened, my need for people was immediate
and overwhelming. In the beginning, I needed the highly specialized, intense
physical care of doctors, surgeons, and therapists. As the weeks turned to
months, I needed the round-the-clock care and comfort of nurses, family, and
close friends. And alongside them, I needed the community of people who sent
cards, wrote notes, offered up prayers, and visited me—small gestures of
encouragement that kept my spirit alive when my body was broken.
Even now, 17 years later, that need has not disappeared. I
still need people. I still rely on their expertise, their physical assistance,
and their encouragement when I am trying to make new physical gains and push
past my current limitations.
Scripture speaks directly to this lifelong, reciprocal need
for partnership in the book of Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 "Two are better than one;
because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one
will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he
hath not another to help him up."
There is a profound warning in that verse: "Woe
to him that is alone when he falleth." Falling is an inevitable part
of the human experience. We will fall physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The tragedy isn't the fall itself; the tragedy is falling without a hand to
reach down and pull you back up.
The Power of Your Circle
We have all heard the secular phrases before: "There
is strength in numbers," or "Show me your friends, and I’ll
show you your future." But these aren't just modern sociological
observations. Who you surround yourself with—your "circle"—has a
massive, undeniable influence on your life, whether you want to admit it or
not.
The writer of Proverbs understood the sharpening power of
deep, intentional relationships:
Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a
man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."
If we surround ourselves with dull, unsupportive, or negative influences, we become dull. But when we build a circle of faith, strength, and encouragement, we sharpen one another. Throughout scripture, we are given beautiful, concrete examples of people who survived their darkest moments purely because of the strength of their circle.
1. Aaron and Hur: Holding Up Weary Hands
In Exodus 17, the Israelites found themselves in a fierce
battle against the Amalekites. Moses discovered that as long as he held up his
staff in his hands, Israel prevailed. But Moses was a human being, and his arms
grew heavy.
Exodus 17:12 "But Moses' hands were heavy;
and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and
Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other
side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."
Moses was a great leader, chosen by God, but he could not
hold his hands up alone. He needed Aaron and Hur to literally carry the
weight for him. Sometimes, we are Moses—weary, exhausted, unable to keep
fighting. In those moments, we need friends who will bring us a stone to sit on
and hold our hands high until the victory is won.
2. The Lame Man’s Friends: Tearing Down Barriers
In Mark chapter 2, we find the story of a man sick with
palsy (paralyzed) who desperately needed to get to Jesus. The house where Jesus
was teaching was so packed with crowds that there was absolutely no way through
the door.
A lesser circle of friends might have said, "Well,
we tried. We’ll come back tomorrow." But this man’s circle was
different.
Mark 2:4-5 "And when they could not come nigh
unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had
broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When
Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee."
Notice that scripture says Jesus saw their faith—the
collective faith of the friends who carried the stretcher, climbed the roof,
and tore up the tiles. This man received his healing and walked out on his
own two feet because he had a circle of friends who refused to let barriers
stand between him and his miracle.
3. Jonathan and David: Strength in the Wilderness
When David was on the run for his life, hunted like an
animal by King Saul, he was isolated, terrified, and weary. In his moment of
deepest despair, Saul’s own son, Jonathan, risked everything to find David in
the woods.
1 Samuel 23:16 "And Jonathan Saul's son
arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God."
Jonathan didn’t offer David a military strategy or a
political alliance; he went into the dark woods simply to strengthen his
hand in God. He reminded David of God's promises when David was too tired
to remember them himself. That is the ultimate purpose of a godly circle: to
point us back to the Father when our own strength is gone.
Who is in Your Circle?
Because our circle has such a powerful influence on us, we
must be incredibly intentional about who we allow into our inner world. The
Bible warns us about the quiet, eroding power of poor companionship:
1 Corinthians 15:33 "Be not deceived: evil
communications corrupt good manners."
If we surround ourselves with people who feed our fears,
validate our excuses, or pull us away from our faith, we will slowly find
ourselves slipping. But when we choose a circle like the ones Moses, the lame
man, and David had, we build a foundation that can withstand any storm.
As you look at your own life today, ask yourself:
- Who
is holding up your hands when you get weary? Do you have an Aaron and
a Hur in your corner?
- Who
is willing to help you tear off the roof to get to Jesus? Do your
friends push you closer to God, or do they pull you away?
- Are
you being that friend to someone else?
Tied Together for the Journey
Our lives are indeed a vapor. We do not know what tomorrow
holds, and we cannot guarantee that a simple walk down the driveway or a button
on a sweater won't change everything in an instant. Tragedy and change are
unpredictable, and they do not wait for us to be ready.
But we do not have to walk this fragile road in fear. God
has given us a remedy for our vulnerability: each other.
By building a strong, godly circle, by opening ourselves up
to receive help, and by standing ready to hold up the hands of those who are
weary, we fulfill the ultimate law of Christ. Let us cherish our circle, guard
our influences, and live out the truth every single day that we are, by God's
perfect design, stronger together.
Galatians 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfil the law of Christ."
