Friend in the Pit

I was walking in the forest one day,

Just looking at the trees,

When I came upon a large pit,

An earthy yawn, too deep to cross.

Curious but cautious, I edged forward

And peered inside.

A gasp of amazement escaped my lips.

My friend was down there!

My dear friend!

“Hello!” I called down into the shadows,

Knocking some dust down too.

“What happened?  Why are you in this pit?”

My friend’s face and clothes were covered in dirt,

Her cheeks streaked with muddy tears.

She hugged her knees against her chest,

Her weary head rested on top.

My friend began to tell me what happened,

How she fell down.

As I listened, I got distracted.

There were some things here that might help!

“Hey!” I interrupted,

“Have you tried digging steps into the side?

Here’s a stick you can use as a shovel!”

And I threw the stick into the pit.

My friend barely missed getting hit.

She continued her story.

As I listened, I noticed something else:

Rocks!

“Hey!” I interrupted,

“What about these rocks? 

I know somebody who used a bunch of rocks to get out of the pit they were in!”

And I tossed her rocks of various sizes and weights.

My friend shielded herself with her arms

As rocks and debris rained down.

I told her to keep talking to me,

But inside, I wondered why she hadn’t started working on getting out.

I kept one ear open to my friend’s words

And wandered a little ways

In search of something else to get her out.

Surely, we could solve this whole pit scenario.

“Brooke.”

A voice in the trees said my name.

“Yeah?” I responded,

Stopping my search for a moment.

Jesus appeared, walking towards me.

“Oh,” I said quietly, “Hello, my Lord.”

I was in awe, not sure what to do or say next.

He smiled and said nothing,

Just held out His hand.

I had to drop my collection of pine cones and rocks

In order to take His hand.

“Come with Me,” Jesus said.

He led me back to the pit

Where my friend was still telling what had gone wrong.

She hadn’t noticed my absence with her face to the ground.

Jesus dropped my hand

And got on the ground next to the pit.

He carefully swung His legs over the side

And pushed off, jumping into the hollow ground.

“Brooke, come on!”

Jesus’ voice echoed from below.

I looked over and His arms were spread,

Ready to catch me.

What the heck?!

I thought this whole deal was about getting my friend out,

Not getting myself in!

But, I'm going to go with Jesus, so into the pit I went.

Jesus went over to where my friend was sitting

And telling her story to the ground.

He sat on one side of her

And motioned for me to sit on the other side.

Again, this made no sense.

Now we were both in the pit and both getting dirty.

How was this helpful?

Jesus put His arms around my friend.

He rested His head against hers,

And whispered in her ear,

“I’m here, dear one.  You are not alone.”

Now that I was down in the pit too,

I began to see things differently.

The rocks and sticks I’d thrown down

Seemed so foolish and hurtful from here.

I watched Jesus sit close

And listen to my friend,

My dear friend.

I watched Him cover her with His presence.

So I put my arm around her too,

And I leaned my face into the mix.

I heard her words,

And I felt her tears against my cheek.

I whispered in her ear,

“I’m here, dear one.  You are not alone.”

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Recently, someone I love told me how awful life has been.  She poured out her heart and while she spoke, I kept getting distracted with ideas of how to make her situation better.  Why was she so upset when all she had to do was get herself out of that bad mindset?  I was a crappy listener, for sure.  Then, I ended the conversation with a barrage of positive affirmations and a big dose of my opinion.  There!  Everything was solved, right?  Nope.  The next day, my friend told me how I'd added to her pain with my careless words.  I had been unwilling to just sit with her in her painful place.  

When God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth, He came down into our pit.  Instead of staying in heaven and shouting down advice, Jesus made our places of shame, of sadness, of overwhelming circumstances His home.  He says He is with us and He is.  

Psalm 46:7 "The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Genesis 28:15  "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you."

Matthew 28:20  "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Today, may you know Jesus' loving presence with you.  May we be willing to go with Jesus and be a loving presence wherever He shows us a dear one in need.