“I Got You, Buddy”

My boys were out back playing yesterday. We are working on a project and right now our backyard is every little boy’s paradise-a giant pile of dirt! The bank where we dug the dirt out is extremely steep and Carter has managed to figure out a way to climb up on his own. Well, everything that big brother does, little brother wants to do. I’m up on the top of this high bank looking down as Daniel is desperately trying to climb it. He is fussing and hollering, just desperate for someone to help him. Carter comes up right behind Daniel and starts pushing him from the bottom. There’s no way he would have the strength to push him up the bank, but he kept trying and slowly Daniel climbed a little higher. Then he wrapped his arms around Daniel and said, “I got you, buddy.” Then he looked at me and said, “Mama, help pull him up to the top.” By that point he was up high enough from the bottom for me to grab his arms and pull him up to the top.

All I could think about was that picture of Carter, doing everything in his power to lift his baby brother up out of the dirt. He knew he couldn’t get him all the way up, but just that little boost was enough to get him off the bottom and into the reach of Mama, waiting at the top. It’s a lot like what we as Christians are called to do. There are people all around us that are stuck in deep holes or messy dirt. We need to do everything within our power to come alongside them or even push them from behind and say, “Hey, I got you, buddy,”  and try to lift them up out of the dirt. We may not be able to lift them all the way up, but just that little boost may be enough to get them  up off the bottom and into the reach of Jesus, waiting at the top.

We aren’t the saviors, but we can be the lifeline that He uses to get others to the Savior.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (the MSG)