He clutches his ‘nearly-the-size-of-him’ backpack tightly to his chest. His shoes, somehow having landed on the wrong feet, stand motionless- flaps to the wind. But thankfully we remembered the bus pass. He holds the tiny stub of paper with the little bit of tape I stuck on for good measure, absently rubbing it against his cheek.
There is fear in his eyes.
He is going on a different bus today, but because he is right now alone, this experience is terrifying to him. It is unthinkable. To get on a vehicle you have never before traveled and trust that it will end up somewhere familiar is beyond his capability right now. All he wants is something sure and someone familiar. Someone recognizable to travel this road with him that will eventually take him toward home.
Don’t we all?
Life is lonely. And so very hard.
We were never promised easy. Never guaranteed a trouble-free road.
That road might look different depending on where you stand, but the road remains the same. Challenged with obstacles, roadblocks, detours, barriers and obstructions of every kind.
{“In this world you will have trouble.” It’s a certainty. A sure thing.}
I stand beside him with my hand on his back. I see the tiny tears welling up in his eyes, and my own heart breaks in two. Breaks into a piece for him and a piece saved for all the others that I will stand alongside in comfort and offer my heart of hope.
I crouch down beside and whisper those very words of hope that I believe. Words that I trust will bring him peace of mind and ease of trouble.
I tell him that his brother is on his way. It won’t be long, they will soon be reunited. We both look toward the door in anticipation. For when that older brother appears, all anxiety will subside. Brothers offer that kind of sustaining optimism sometimes. When they do, it is a powerful thing to behold.
{“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.”}
Sometimes we wait for things to come to us. But sometimes we must move towards those things we know are waiting.
We two walk toward the outside door, through it and then up the stairs and towards the classroom buzzing with voices where we know Big Brother patiently waits for his own release.
The lost is found.
{“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”}
We know this world is fraught with tribulation, difficulty, pain and hardship. We are all located somewhere on that continuum of trouble. Where we are located is different depending on the story, depending on the variables. But the outlook is hopeful no matter what the situation.
For He has overcome the world.
And that very fact makes all the difference.
You know-you never stop needing someone there. As Christians, we know we have our ever present God, but, He also knew we would need people we can see and touch. And, He told us to be that for one another. We fail Him, when we pass by people we can be Jesus to. What could be more important than that?