.

Me and the gentleman in front of me slowed our pace and opened the door for him to allow him to take his time in getting in. Where I work you can only get in through revolving doors, there is no other way. So if someone is moving slowly in front of you, you just have to take it easy and let them go. Of course if someone is on crutches you can have some sympathy for them and there slow moving does not bother you as much.

This man was very friendly and you could tell he was new to crutches. He didn’t operate them very well and was moving extra slow as he navigated the door. He smiled as we let him in and he made a wonderful statement, “With crutches you meet a lot of new and friendly people.” That statement has stayed with me for more than a week.

Let’s learn some lessons from our friend on crutches. One lesson is really a reminder that on a whole people really do care about other folks. When they see someone in need they will open the door, wait an extra minute, carry your briefcase or even just simply give a smile and ask how your doing. It’s nice to know there is still a good side of people.

Really it is not so much what I learn from knowing other people are nice to people that is meaningful, it is what the guy on the crutches must be learning that strikes me. When you are on crutches, you need other people. We go through life thinking we are very self sufficient. It is only when we are hurt or hurting that we realize we can’t do all of this on our own.

You need someone to carry your books, to open the door, to help with even the simplest of things. We try to be self sufficient but it just can not happen. When on crutches you are forced to look for help. I think that can be a good thing.

When in life you are hurt or hurting, it is good to be forced to look for help. God will use that time to lead you into a dependency on Him and on others that you would have never sought as long as things were going well. There are times that God puts you on ‘crutches’ so that we can see the good in others and to learn what it means to really depend on Him.

There are times in our lives that we all limp around on crutches. For example a family member dies and you need some folks to hold you up spiritually and physically. It is good to have family and friends that are ready to stand in the gap for you with prayers and support. Another example is when someone accustomed to making a good living finds themselves out of work. It is hard for them to be able to swallow their pride and accept help from others. But in the long run we are better for it.

Sometimes we twist our own ankle by making foolish decisions and at others we step in a pot hole we never saw coming. No matter which way it happens it always hurts and there is always a time of recovery. One thing to keep in mind is that with short term injury crutches are there simply to help us through that period, not to be used forever. God has a lesson for us to learn, then leads us to throw off the crutches and get moving again. Accept those lessons then move on, possibly and probably in the direction of helping someone else with your new found dependence on God.

God uses our pain, our moment on crutches if you will to teach us, to draw us closer to Him and others; in the long run it is good for us. Even if we do not enjoy it at the moment, we can almost always look back and see how it helped us grow.

Right now you might be limping alone; God has slowed you down, gotten your attention. Most growth is not found as you run through life but as you limp, somehow like my friend walking in the door we need to find the good in the crutches.

Scripture: Psalm 62:7, “My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my might rock, my refuge.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to depend on you with all our hearts. Help us to learn the lessons you have in store for us to build us up, to draw us closer to you. Have us not to rebel against your messages. We ask these things in the name of Christ, Amen.