If we are just one, we can break

A few years ago, when my kids and I were out driving and had time in the car, I decided it would be good to review some safety rules with them.

It had been a while since I’d done this and I wanted to talk to them about what to do in different situations.

When I’d done this before, I’d usually ask them a question like, “What would you do if a stranger asked you to go with him or her?” and after they’d answer, we’d talk about it.

This time, as I began talking to them about the importance of sticking together in crowded places like the movie theater or the mall, my daughter chimed in from the back seat…

“Yeah, because if we are just one, we can really break, but if we’re together, it’s not so easy.”

Exactly.

I smiled and looked in the rear view mirror. “Where’d you learn that?”

She smiled proudly. “At church.”

“That’s one of my favorite verses,” I said.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

I love verse 9 also…

“Two are better than one…for if they fall, one will lift up the other.” Ecclesiastes 4:9

And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Just like we are less likely to get lost in a crowd if we stick with our friends or family, we’re less likely to get “lost” in life if we stand by one another.

If one gets off track, the other can help us find our way back. If one faces a hardship, the other can help us through it. If one can’t take another step alone, the other can hold our hand and pull us forward.

I think sometimes we forget how important friendship and relationships with family are. (Because maintaining relationships can be work. And sticking by someone can sometimes be hard.)

But we were meant to reach out to others. We were meant to be together.

We weren’t meant to be “just one.”

So if there’s someone you’re having a hard time sticking by right now, be encouraged and know that you may be the very one that can make a difference in that person’s life. And if you’re the one needing someone to come alongside you, reach out to someone. You are not meant to be just one, my friend.

You are not alone.

What about you? Has there been a time in your life that others have lifted you up or helped you through? How do you reach out to others and stay close with your friends and family?

2 Responses to If we are just one, we can break
  1. Laura
    September 29, 2012 | 9:58 am

    Love this. 🙂 Thank you!

  2. Kimberly
    September 30, 2012 | 6:19 am

    This is such a great reminder. We just had a girlfriends night at our church, and we talked about this very subject. How we need one another, and how the enemy loves nothing better than to get us to isolate ourselves…because he knows, he knows how powerful it is when we have friends and loved ones who can encourage us, laugh with us, cry with us, speak truth to us. He knows how much easier it is for him to attack us when we are on our own.

    Praying your devotion motivated some ladies to take the effort to stay connected. And thanking God for reminding ME again to stay connected myself.