Did you see the couple with the cute baby at the mall? They were wearing the right clothes, pushing the newest stroller, and driving a nice SUV. You may have even been a little jealous. What you didn’t see was the 70 plus hours a week the husband was putting in at the office. You never saw the high blood pressure and stress induced panic attacks he has in the middle of the night. You didn’t see the wife’s broken loneliness because she misses her husband. She misses the lives they used to have. You didn’t see the stress induced fights…..we are the broken.
Did you see the Deacon sitting next to you at church? He was wearing a brand new tailored suit. He sang with all his heart to the God he serves. He says a cheery hello every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night. What you don’t see is his problem with alcohol. How his excessive drinking contributed to his divorce. How his anger issues have caused him to not be able to hold down a steady job for 3 years…..we are the broken
Did you see the High school cheerleader. She’s the captain of the squad. The most popular girl in school. She has the newest clothes, throws the best parties, is dating the captain of the football team. She has a GPA of 3.5 and has a full ride to State when she graduates. What you didn’t see was her struggle with Bulimia. Every time she looks in the mirror, no matter what everyone else sees, she feels fat. You didn’t tiny scars she keeps hidden from the world. Cause a little bit of pain feels better than feeling nothing at all…we are the broken
Day in and day out we pass by people, and never give them a second thought. We may nod politely, or speak a quiet hello. But do we actually care? Do we truly care enough to see the pain, weakness, hopelessness, hate, anger, frustration they face every minute of every day? If we are truly honest with ourselves, the answer is no. Why? Have we become so self-absorbed into our 160 character lives that no one on the outside of our Facebook friends list matters? Or is it that we have just become complacent with the world around us? Whatever the answer, we have to make a change. We have to open our eyes to the world around us. We have to extend a hand to the alcoholic who fell off the wagon. We have to sit in silence with the cutting cheerleader to let her know she truly matters. We have to offer our support for the struggling family. In the end, the broken are not doomed to stay that way, if we help pick up the pieces. There is hope…