Digging and Digging

 

I felt like I was in a Bible story last week.

I had a friend who was figuratively paralyzed by life.

Nothing was going right—

In fact, lots of big things were going wrong—

And it didn’t seem like there were any good solutions.

She felt paralyzed.

I felt helpless.

 

Even though I don’t understand how prayer for other people works,

I began fervently praying,

And I found myself saying aloud,

“God. I know my friend isn’t a pray-er.

She’s too logical and practical to pray.

But I know she believes in you, God,

And I know she tries to live her life in ways that honor You,

So let me pray for her, God.

Let my prayers work for her.”

 

And then I thought of the story of the paraplegic who was taken to Jesus by his friends.

The house in which Jesus was teaching was so crowded that the friends couldn’t get inside,

So they literally dug a hole through the roof and lowered their friend to Jesus.

And Jesus healed him!

We don’t know if it was the man’s idea to go to Jesus or if it was his friends’.

All we know is that the friends did for the man what he himself could not:

They laid him in front of Jesus.

And that was enough.

 

I suppose you know what I did next.

I started figuratively digging.

And digging and digging.

And lowering my friend to Jesus.

 

There’s a song by Sara Groves that says:

“Love is a diamond,

Hidden in mountains,

Covered by danger and dirt.

I’m on the outside,

Digging and digging.

I’ve seen, so I know what it’s worth.”

 

When we love people,

We will do anything we can to help them.

We will dig holes through roofs and mountains,

And we will pray prayers so fervently that we cry.

 

Let’s keep loving, friends.

And let’s keep digging,

And let’s keep laying people at the feet of Jesus,

And trusting God, through time, miracle, and creation to do the rest.

 

Amen.