“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
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Since I began running competitively at the age of 16, I had always been on a team. I had always had a support system, numerous running partners, people to warm up with at races and people to hold me accountable. My teammates cheered for me in workouts and races, and cried with me when they didn’t go well. My teammates were my extended family in college, when my actual family was three hours away. Then I graduated college, and I was on my own.
It’s hard to force yourself out the door to run when no one will notice but you. It’s hard to get in those tough workouts when no one is watching. It’s hard to sign up for the races when no one will be waiting for you to warm up. It’s hard to pick yourself up after failure when no one knows what this failure feels like.
It’s hard to walk the Christian life alone, too. As author, speaker and philanthropist Bob Goff said, “Next to grace, I bet God thinks having us need each other was one of his best ideas.”
God created us to need each other because He wants us to have someone to pick us up when we fall. He wants us to have cheerleaders, shoulders to cry on and extended families wherever we end up. He wants us to have people who will tell us hard things, will hold us accountable to do the work and will notice when we’re missing. He wants us all to feel wanted, needed, loved and held on this earth.
Without this, we can walk away from Him, get lost, lose our focus. With a team, there’s nowhere to hide, and there are people to defend against the enemy. With a team, we can feel the love of Jesus tangibly on earth. With a team, God’s greatest purposes are accomplished. And with a team, we are not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
Who is on your team? Who is your support system? Who will notice when you’re not at church? Who will tell you to pick up the Bible when you’re wandering? Who will pick you up when you fail?
Find them. Invest in them. Love them. You weren’t meant to walk (or run) alone.
— Ondi Mejia
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