Don’t be Fine
Several years ago, when I was leading a youth camp, something terrifying happened. The camp we were staying at was right on the beach and had a beautiful, scenic backdrop for all of our activities. One afternoon we took all the youth swimming, naturally.
When swimming out in the ocean, it helps to have fins on - they help you to move quickly in the water when you need to. A few of us went pretty far off shore, enjoying the reef and ocean life. One student decided to join us, but he did not have fins. He was a strong swimmer and told everyone that he was fine, but once we got out past the wave break it became evident that he was not ‘fine’.
This boy, who was significantly larger than I was had grown very tired and was not going to make it back to shore. Not knowing what to do, I took off my fins and put them on his feet. He needed what little energy he had left to last as long as possible. I held him up as he bobbed up and down while we were swimming to the closest stop of land. It was physically exhausting for me, as well as the other adults who were with us, but we made it to shore.
There are so many times in our lives where we just tell people we are fine, when in reality we are barely keeping our head above the water. We’ve been conditioned to not need anyone because our culture has told us that we would look weak.
We need to learn that it is okay to not be okay. It is okay to not be fine. We need to learn that it is okay to tell people how we are really doing and ask for help. We need to be okay with the idea that we cannot do everything on our own and be willing to admit it.
God has placed people in our lives to help us. Galatians 6:2 says : Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
How can we carry one another’s burden is we all pretend to be fine all the time?
Don’t wait until you are about to drown to ask for help.
It would have been a lot easier for me if that young man would have told me that he was getting tired long before he had no energy left. Being part of the family of God is just that - a family. We have been given brothers and sisters in Christ who are going to lift us up when we are down, but they need to know that you are down.
Don’t be ‘fine’. Be real. Be authentic. Be loving. Be helpful. Be a Follower of Christ.
