Ripple

Last Saturday night, I had a mental attack that left me sitting alone, in the dark, on the floor of our bathroom. Tears soaked the sleeves of my sweatshirt as I wept into my arms. My husband’s efforts to come and console me resulted in a verbal attack on him. My mind raced and darted, thinking about everything and nothing all at once. This experience was nothing new to me, though it hadn’t happened in quite some time. I don’t know where it comes from (actually, I do), but the only thing that stops it once it starts is time and prayer, meditation and scripture. Truth alone can combat the weaponry of a lying enemy.

As a result of that hour on Saturday night, I was unable to perform my usual Sunday morning task – the jovial greeting and welcome onstage at church. Thanks to a compassionate and understanding pastor, this was okay; I was able to come for one service and simply worship as a part of the community. As I did, a thought came to mind that shook me to my core.

What happened to me on Saturday night, alone in the darkness and privacy of my home, affected everyone in our community on Sunday morning. While I alone cried and suffered, everyone felt the effects of that time. Worship was different (not worse, but different, for sure), and though not everyone knew why, everyone was affected.

What a thought. The thought continued to work in me throughout worship, and for once, rather than feeling guilty for my weakness, I felt comforted in the fact that I was not alone in it, however so it had felt.

When I suffer, it affects other people. When I rejoice, it affects others. When I celebrate or mourn or drift from God, other people are affected.

In Scripture, God tells us through Paul that each of us is a part of one body – the body of Christ. Just as in the human body each part is reliant upon each of the other parts, each of us in the community of Christ relies upon and is incomplete without the others who are living life alongside us. Paul says, “What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! There are many parts, but only one body. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. Not all of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12 :19-20, 26-27)

The beautiful thing about being a part of the body of Christ – the community of believers – is this: if you suffer, you are not alone in it. Others are there to suffer along with you, and as you are pulled from darkness into light (as you will certainly be), others are right there to rejoice with you, too. We are never alone, and if we feel that we are, it never has to be that way.