4.3.23 - Mark 14:32-35
What if, just for a moment, we didn't turn away from the pain of others? Instead taking a moment to stand with them and allow them to affect us?
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
Have you ever “kept awake” beside someone so distressed and agitated? So deep in grief that they throw themself on the ground?
The sleepy disciples make me think of all the ways we ignore those around us who are in pain and grief. How we turn away and fall asleep so that we don’t have to bear witness to what may feel out of control and dangerous.
Jesus must have felt so alone. For all the love he gave to the disciples and all the time they spent in ministry together, Jesus was surrounded by people, and all alone when he needed to be loved the most.
What is it about us that causes us to abandon one another at the worst moments?
What are we afraid of?
How do we build a faith that holds us together “even to death”?
Take the opportunity today, this week, or this month to see what it is like to fight that urge to flee or fix, and instead to just be present to someone in their grief.
--Jenny Whitcher
Reframe is built around the idea that our habits can change, and in turn change us.
One of the hardest yet most effective ways to shape a new habit is to share it with someone.