Meeting Needs

Meeting Needs

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

“I hate to ask, but could you pick me up tomorrow after surgery?” Mary’s question came during our conversation about my canceled plans and how my schedule for the next day had unexpectedly cleared.

Mary is a single mom whose family lives far away. She was having outpatient surgery, and my heart squeezed at her words—knowing it was humbling for her to have to ask for help and immensely sad that she was navigating what it means to be a single parent through no choice of her own.

As I visited quietly with her in the recovery room while she waited to get discharged, my thoughts circled back to the unfairness of this—having me, a friend, sitting in the chair usually reserved for spouses and family, the intimacy of the nurse handing me the discharge papers as she gave me instructions for the prescription and aftercare. I silently prayed that I would be more sensitive, more discerning when it came to Mary. I asked God to show me ways that Aaron and I could support her family not only as she recovered but also going forward.

In the months since her surgery, we’ve looked for little ways to ease her burden. We’ve prayed for her and with her over the things beyond her control, offering a safe place to vent when frustrations are simply too much. When Mary expresses gratitude but also regret at needing help, I gently remind her that this is a season for her to receive, and I promise her that God will use her once again to be the helper, the giver, the one who comes alongside with loving generosity and hospitality.

We were never meant to do life alone, despite our American culture’s celebration of fierce independence and the false narrative of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. God built us for community, and then showed us through Scripture what it looks like to have spiritual brothers and sisters who look out for those around them and who generously give and humbly receive as life ebbs and flows.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Consider which of your friends could use extra help in the form of a listening ear or an extra set of hands, and then meet her needs.