God, present in others

Twice in this past year, around the end of each semester, my mom has had surgery.  Neither has been particularly serious, but each has presented its own challenges in recovery.

I’ve become quite familiar with feeling helpless as I’ve waited alone in the waiting room, and as I watch her trying to overcome the weakness that follows any surgery.  Being an only child, I have felt particularly responsible for being there for her, but often there’s nothing I can do but to be there along the journey with her.

In the past months, I’ve often felt overwhelmed, trying to balance life at school and life at home, but there have been so many people who have been there to help us through these tough times and for that I am incredibly thankful.  For a while, we had more food than we knew what to do with, because it seemed like a neighbor or friend would come over at least once a day with a meal.  When I had to go somewhere, someone would always offer to come over and keep my mom company, and people just keep checking up on us.

It’s been a good lesson to me, a stubborn, independent person, that I don’t have to go about life alone, especially the tough parts.  God shows up all the time in the people I know, in little ways that they might not even notice are that important: offering to sit with me in the waiting room, listening as I recount my rough days, and by praying for us.  But these little things make a world of a difference.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for all of the people you have placed in my life.  The way you show up through them continues to surprise and amaze me.  Help me to remember that I don’t have to face life alone, that you are always on my side, and you’re always sending help.
Amen

Sara Sneed