Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
“Love Will Keep Us Together.” It is one of our songs from the 70’s and it has been a way of living for us. We sleep in the same bedroom in the same bed. We eat our meals together. We go out and eat together. We watch television…mostly together. We travel together…doing vacations…together. We are a together kind of couple. The old saying goes, “the family that prays together, stays together” and I do believe there is truth in that statement. A nationally known speaker said that 80 percent of couples who pray together stay together. Interesting…if nothing else.
Well, this week my wife Judy and I carried this together thing to a new level. Tuesday of this week, after a week of being ill with traveler’s disease (there’s a Grits story on that), I began feeling a little puny. As the day went on, I felt worse. Of all days, it was Judy’s birthday, and she had a lunch party with several of her friends so we didn’t see each other till after I got home from work. So, I walked in, and she was sitting at her desk. I think I spoke first and said I just wasn’t feeling good, and she responded with, “I don’t feel good either.” We decided to postpone our birthday dinner plans and sat around each progressively feeling worse.
Being a COVID veteran, I had my suspicions but didn’t say much but the night and the next morning said it all. We both tossed and turned, got hot and then cold, had headaches (her’s was mega) and body aches. I got up first and felt just miserable and then Judy came in. Now Judy is one of those folks who rarely gets sick and rarely complains. She came into my office and simply said, “I feel terrible. We need to go the doctor.” Well, she took a home COVID test and it was a clear positive. The long and short of it all, we both had COVID, and it was one more thing we did together.
I told her I was grateful she was sick with me. Let me explain. First, because I didn’t have to walk this alone and, second, I knew she could identify with how I felt. Her body hurt like mine. When I had COVID over year ago she was sympathetic but this time she empathic. What is the difference? Think of it this way. If a person on the shore sees a person struggling in water and throws them a life preserver…they are sympathetic. But when that same person jumps into the water and struggles with that person…they are empathetic.
Over the last forty-six years of marriage (we celebrate that on June 26th) we have had plenty to celebrate but it occurred to me that we sometimes miss reasons to “tip our glass.” This might be one of those. We walked the COVID valley together, caring for one another, helping one another. We walked the dark road each shining light on the other’s path. That is love and frankly, that is a little Jesus too. It probably is a great example of Proverbs 4:9-10, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.” It’s true in life, it’s true in marriage and it is true in COVID.
So, there you go. It is wonderful to have a wife and a friend like Judy to walk with me, but did you know there is something even better? You see my Dearest Daddy in heaven walks with me too. Honestly, I felt so bad I couldn’t even think about praying but that is ok because the Bible teaches that the God’s Holy Spirit was praying on my behalf. And, the Bible also says that Jesus is constantly interceding for us too. Talk about a prayer team. That might be why I just know that if I listened, I would hear the sweet whisperer whispering, “Don’t worry, son, We’ve got this!” Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 