Life is painful sometimes.  We lose a job, our marriages struggle, we lose someone close to us, our kids are acting up or possibly worse, our own health is failing.  Maneuvering through these challenges requires an enormous amount of time, energy, and emotional investment. It’s hard enough to get through any one of these successfully, let alone doing it by yourself.  Let me clear up front, outside of the sheer grace of God, I know of nothing more powerful and more effective than having a strong support system. Why can I say this, I know this from first-hand experience.

If have kept up with my blog, you may remember that the first few years of my marriage was a struggle.  I cannot tell you how many times we considered throwing in the towel. I thought I knew enough and was more than capable to make it work.  However, lurking behind my reluctance to seek out help was pride. I was supposed to be the person who had everything together and who others went to for help, not the other way around.

Things began to change when a group of friends who had gotten wind of what was going on in our marriage pooled their money together to pay for us to attend a marriage conference. When I told my wife what they had planned for us, she got pretty emotional.  Just by looking at her reaction, I knew it was time to act. I can honestly say that without the prayer and “hands-on” support of our support system, we would not have celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary this past year. We are happier today than we have ever been.

God said, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.” (Proverbs 27:17).

No person or couple has everything they need or has all the answers to do life successfully by themselves. God never intended it that way. To support simply means to give assistance, and it can take many forms: the person who checks on their neighbor’s house while they are out of town; the friend who delivers meals to a family who just gave birth to a child; the friend who volunteers to babysit so that another couple has time to focus on their marriage; the friend who donates his car because his friend lost his company car—or it could be the friend who is willing to take an hour and just listen. How comforting it is to know that someone really cares.

Keep in mind, a strong support system helps us navigate challenging situations.  Think of it as your personal “life-line.” The hard part is being honest with yourself and determining how strong of a support system you really have.  In your time of need, do you have someone you know you can count on and will be there for you, not expecting anything in return?

If you remember nothing else, think of this truth, “the success of your marriage will often hinge upon the strength of the support you have around you.”

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Your Virtual Mentor,

Doug