I’ve always found the story of the man, Job (“Jobe”), to be altogether interesting and horrifying. Through no fault of his own, he was the unwitting character in a cosmic experiment slash tragedy slash faith story. What a job for Job. He has a series of worst-day-evers and then three friends come a-callin’ to help a buddy out:. Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar, the three bummer-teers. Rather than “loving him through it” like the sweet promise in a Martina McBride song, they badger the guy. Kick him when he’s way, way down. If I had been Job, to Zophar, I’d have been like, “Dude. I dunno, but ZoPHAR you’re not helping.”
A friend recently beat down cancer and she gathered her friends together to thank them for helping meet some of her needs during that time. At our post-cancer-celebration-gathering, she played the Martina song. No Kleenex were spared.
I watch the video below of the students and I lose it every time because of the vulnerable woman who sits on the bleacher seats and receives, and because of her students who bear their hearts and souls and voices for their beloved teacher. You see it in their faces, their hands, their flowers–it’s palpable. These tender need-meeters give it all they’ve got, letting their hearts be seen, open, offering to stand in the gap, help. With so many varied types of hurting today, it’s good there’s another way. If we don’t know quite what to say, we can sing a sweet song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITd5pesVjpY