To Brave alongside...

Our associate minister spoke at church last Sunday. He was speaking on "Comfort in times of trial". A seemingly normal topic, one we've all heard before i'm sure. Most of what he said was basic reassurance that we're shown God's comfort in three ways. Number 1, through God Himself. Number 2, through the scriptures. And number 3, through those around us.
He detailed the third avenue of God's comfort, those around us. Our watching others come out of hamrs way unscathed and faithful is encouraging and comforting to those of us who watch. I like this because I"ve know a few people in my recent adult years that have been dealt seriously heavy blows.
The portion of the sermon that was so striking to me, however was his definition of comfort. He broke it down into it's original translation. He said it means, "To brave alongside..."
I sing the song, "He leadeth me", to our kids everynight when we put them to bed. I thought, how appropriate this definition seems now. It's not so much that we have the courage or strength or willingness to survive hard times. We, in our humanness, cannot and do not have the strength to deal with life. But it is by God's grace and His willingness to walk alongside us, that gives us the strength and courage to come out whole on the other side. NOt only whole, but better, and more faithful and more appreciative, and more loving and more forgiving and more convinced that God is good.
It only makes sense. When I think of comforting our kids, it's exactly the same. I walk them to their class at church. They are scared and sometimes ask me not to leave them. But I have a pager and if need be, i'm paged and when they look at their door, i'm there waiting with open arms. When they are hurting or sick, i'm there with a blanket or a sippy cup and a big old hug. When they're trying something new, Ryan is there waiting to catch them in the pool or pick them back up after crashing onto the ground after a surprising hard fall. Of course we hold hands when we walk across the street on into a busy establishment. We'd never leave our babies alone.
He walks alongside us. If only we'll ask and allow Him to guide us. Comfort. To brave alongside.
Nicely taught, Rocky. Nicely taught.