We Carry Together
“Perhaps the most oddly comforting thing about joining the Mennonite club is they insist that suffering never be done alone.” ~Kate Bowler
This past Sunday, I sat with the church youth group members, teenagers who are smart and witty and deeply engaged in life, and asked them what they feel angry about, or what they feel concerned or confused by in their world. Each of them had their own unique answer, some with more than one, yet each of them also nodded in recognition of, or gasped in surprised disgust over, the frustrations of one another. I wrote each concern on a giant piece of paper for each to see the upset of their community of friends. As our meeting closed, I encouraged them to take a longer look at the list. I told them, in naming that which weighs heavy on our own heart, we allow our community to carry this weight along with us. And so we lighten each other’s individual load as we each hold a piece together.
There is much talk about the disease of loneliness and its affects on our mental, emotional, and physical well being. The CDC now lists it as a risk factor for premature death, one that rivals smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. Loneliness is said to increase the risk of dementia, also a major health epidemic, by 50%. It increases depression and suicide and increases heart failure risks by 4 times. It’s simply too hard and heavy to carry all of life alone. And we’re not meant to.