It hurt to watch him.

The curled-over, life-worn man was practically crawling to his car in the parking lot. I handed off the buggy to the boys and began to approach him to help when he said thanks, but no thanks.

“Help is on the way, little lady.”

I took a step back as his “help” arrived.

His wife was almost as bent as he was. She grabbed his hand and they walked the few more steps to the car.

“We’re limping, but at least we’re limping together. We’ll get there,” he flung over his shoulder.

This was several years ago, and time had started to slowly erase the image in my mind, until the past few weeks. It’s back in my head now, as sharp as ever. I can see him struggling so badly on his own until she got there. She did not look like “help.” But when she arrived, he was okay, and they both made it to safety, albeit slowly.

They were limping, to put it mildly, but they were limping together, and they were okay.

If this isn’t us right now, I don’t know what is.

We are limping in our tragedy. We are limping in our sickness. We are limping in our rage, our confusion, our insecurities, our selfishness. We are limping in our need to be right, to win the argument either way.

We are a bent and broken people, and nothing we can ever do on our own will make us straighten up. We were made in the image of a Perfect One, but we are imperfect in our human nature.

So we must make our way with the Perfect One. The Creator of us all. He knew what limitations would cripple me, and which ones would cripple you. And He made us to fit together for each other.

For me to stumble along with you, and you to stumble along with me, especially when we’re hurting…that’s how He made us.

We especially need each other right now, because while the road to Home is straight, it’s also narrow, and there are many distractions along the way.

I will get distracted by myself and my own comforts, thoughts, and feelings. So will you.

I will probably fall and cause you to stumble more than once, and you may do the same to me. But here’s the best thing of all. There is One who walks with us, and His name is Jesus. Here’s what He says in Isaiah:

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

He will keep us on the right path until we get Home, where we will finally be perfect in mind and body.

Until then, it looks like our path is getting pretty rocky right now. Instead of stumbling along by ourselves, why don’t you take my hand, and I’ll take yours, and we can walk beside one another, beside the One who made the path and walks before us, behind us, and beside us?

We may be limping, but at least we’ll be limping together.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Friends, if you don’t know this Jesus that I am talking about, He can everything to you that He is to me. He is my Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and Friend. Here’s how you can know Him: “⁹If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10