There Beside Me

I hope you enjoyed your Columbus Day! We had a really great day spending time with family. My mom was here all the way from the Netherlands and my sister Shawna came over from Austin. We spent a good bit of the day down at the Kemah Boardwalk. And a beautiful day it was! So I'm getting onto this blog a little late today. But here were go! Pick up the Bible and read with me from John 16:5-15. Then take a second helping and listen with your heart.

True friends are hard to come by. Loneliness can be crushing. And loneliness occurs not just when there is no one around, but also when there is no one who really understands who we are and what’s going on inside of us. We feel lonely and lost when we have depended greatly on some key person for help and guidance and companionship, and that person is gone. Believe me, I've been there.

Those feelings were already forming inside Jesus’ disciples as they contemplated life and ministry without him. “Lord, please don't go! Can’t we come too?” I can relate to their fear. Sometimes I recess into a self-focused place feeling like it's all left on me and that I might not have what it takes. It's such a great reminder to hear this from Jesus:

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (v. 7)

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the parakletos. It's translated Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, Intercessor, but maybe the word that best captures all of those ideas is Helper or Friend. It literally means “one called alongside (to help).”

What Jesus says here about him reminds me of an acquaintance of mine. Ron White, a high school performing arts instructor, is partially crippled. In a tragic kind of irony, he was diagnosed with polio the very same year that the vaccine was developed. So he walks, or as he would put it “stumbles along,” with two crutches.

When he went to ACU as a junior, he was required to sign up for a P.E. class. He tried to get out of it, as he had all through grade school, but the coach told him, “I don’t care if the only thing you can do is stand over to the side and take deep breaths, you’re going to be in a P.E. class.” So he chose swimming. It was the one physical activity he had done some and didn’t feel entirely awkward with. The first day the coach said, “Okay, we’re going to swim 10 laps and I’m timing you. Go.” He knew it was going to be a tough semester. After the 10 laps, the coach told the class, “By the end of the semester, you’re going to be swimming a mile without stopping.”

Sure enough, that was the final exam. Ron slid into the pool that day and started the long swim, along with the rest of the class. Finally, the bell rang to end the period. He was still in the pool, and the only one in the pool. As he came around near where the coach was watching, the coach called out, “Ron!” Ron paused and treaded water. “How many more laps?” the coach asked. Ron said, “Five. Do you want me to quit?” He was hoping for a “Yes.” The coach said, “No. Go on and finish.”

Then, as Ron began to swim again, the coach did something he hadn’t done all semester. He put down his clipboard, took off his t-shirt and shoes and dove into the pool. And he swam the last five laps right alongside Ron. Ron said it really inspired him to finish that mile, and he’s never forgotten it.

And what a picture of the ministry of God, the Holy Spirit! God doesn’t just sit and watch us with a clipboard and timer in hand. He comes alongside us to help. I'm going to lean on him today.

How have you gone about tapping into the Holy Spirit's guidance and help in your life lately? Comment below. (Choose "Anonymous" in the "Comment As" field if you don't with to sign in first.)