A Great Battle

Heidi the Librarian sends out a “getting to know you” sheet to the Encore team each year.

One of the questions is “What is your favorite quote?”

My favorite quote, for years, has been lyrics from Sara Groves’s song, “Add To The Beauty.”

“Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces, calling out the best of who we are. And I want to add to the beauty, to tell a better story. Shine with the light that’s burning up inside. And this is grace, an invitation to be beautiful. This is grace, an invitation…”

 

But recently, I’ve been thinking of changing my quote to a shorter statement

That has a couple of variations and no direct source:

Be kind to everyone you meet, for everyone is fighting a great battle.

 

Within the last few months,

I have talked with people who are struggling with:

Financial debts that make them feel so heavy that they can’t breathe,

Unexpected house renovations and family displacement,

A young child acting out at home and at school,

A teenage child battling with disordered eating,

A teenage child having seizures for the first time,

An adult child whose autism will never allow him to live alone,

Mortality and aging,

Sustained and long-term grief,

Company changes that will likely lead to leaving,

Disrespect and lack of trust from colleagues and friends,

Walking on eggshells at home, waiting for the next outburst,

A divorced partner who drives drunk with the kids.

 

And the thing is:

No one would know these things upon first look.

We’d hear

“I’m good,” when we ask,

And we’d see

Smiles, hard-work, determination, and kindness when we glance.

 

Oh God: Help us truly to be kind to everyone we meet, for everyone we know is fighting a great battle. Help us, through listening, praying, crying, thinking, giving, hugging, or whatever else we can do, to be true friends who help carry one another’s burdens in this life. And God? Fight these battles with us and help us to win. Amen.