Support Systems
We are 3 months into the year and I just want to check-in.
How are you doing?
How have you been navigating 2022?
Do you feel supported or do you feel like you are out here trying to figure it out on your own?
As we continue to march (see what I did there) into 2022, I want to encourage you to find support and create systems.
All the things that you want to accomplish, the person that you want to be and the things you want to maintain will require you to have a support system.
A support system can be defined as a network of people who provide an individual with practical or emotional support.
Maybe you’re the friend that is everyone's support. You’re the counselor, the listener, the strong friend. Everybody knows they can call on you when they need help.
*Alexa, play Lean On Me*
Lean on me When you're not strong And I'll be your friend I'll help you carry on... For it won't be long Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on
Some of us are only living out half that song. Everyone can lean on us but we forget that it won’t be long till we need someone to lean on.
We wonder why we are tired, short-tempered and frustrated. It’s because we haven’t taken a break from supporting everyone else around us.
I’ve learned that I am a support system but I also need a support system.
It’s a very interesting tension because we are what we need. I need a support system just as much as I am a support system.
One of my favorite Old Testament stories is Moses holding his arms up as Joshua is in battle. Moses isn’t fighting in the battle but when the staff of God is in his hand and raised, they are winning the battle. When his hands are lowered, the enemy starts to win the battle. It’s a great story that you can read in Exodus 17.
But here’s what I want to focus on, verse 12.
Exodus 17:12
12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
Moses was one of the greatest leaders in the Jewish history and still needed support.
In the story, he takes a seat on a stone. In the text, a stone represents durability and stability. In every stone building, one stone is crucial. It is laid first, and it ensures that the building is stable. It is the rock upon which the weight of the entire structure rests. It is the cornerstone.
Scripture describes Jesus as the "Chief Cornerstone" of our faith. As the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus ensures the stability of the whole system of our salvation.
You can’t be a support unless you’re on a firm foundation.
If you have support, hold on to it. Don’t take it for granted, thank the people around you that hold you up.
If you need support, try to find it. People need the best version of you, and you can only be that with support.
