When was the last time you carried someone? Maybe you carried a sleeping child to bed, helped an elderly parent into the car, or lifted a barefoot friend over hot sand. Part of our lot as human beings is to carry each other; we are carried before we come into the world and our bodies are carried to a final resting place at the end.
Of the thousands of news stories that have flashed along my optic nerve, there is one scene that stays with me. It takes place on a suburban street. A man and his adult daughter get out of a car and turn to speak to the waiting media. The distraught young woman collapses and the man scoops her up and carries her into a house. The scene was over in a few seconds. She was a young mother whose baby had been kidnapped. Thankfully the baby was found safe and well.
There was something so beautiful and tender in that image of the man carrying his daughter, helpless in her despair. But most of the carrying we do is unseen. It happens in private – between partners, family members and friends.
For all the people who are carrying someone right now, using every last ounce of strength and patience to support a loved one through a difficult time, don’t give up. For those leaning hard on the people close to them, your time will come around again.