Most people will experience it at some point in life. Challenges arrive and become overwhelming. It can seem as if we’re in a deep, dark hole with no way out. Isolation and withdrawal can result. What do we do when we hit rock bottom?
The answer to this question may seem obvious. Of course our first reaction is to reach out to family and friends for comfort and support. But not everyone does this – some may isolate and withdraw. Others dive deeper into work or overload their schedules to keep busy. The question that may help provide the answer is simply, “What’s your rock at the bottom?”
My rock was revealed during a very difficult time in my life when, with children at 4 and 6 years old, I was going through a separation and later a divorce. At times I was barely functioning – not eating or sleeping at my lowest point. I felt all alone despite the comfort of close friends. After stumbling into church in a daze one Sunday, I remember feeling energized and moved to tears during the sermon. In fact, I was so emotional that I forgot my purse under the pew. When I retraced my steps back to the sanctuary after the service, it was nowhere to be found.
The next day I returned to the church to report my missing purse and took another look around. In the process I met a member who, during our conversation, learned that I had a desire to join a Bible study. By the end of our time together, we had not only found my purse (exactly where I had left it and looked for it on the previous day), but I found myself in the room of the Moms on Mondays Bible Study. From that day on, I began a new journey that connected me to several women who supported me through my divorce. I also grew in my thirst for the Bible, which prepared me to eventually lead that same mom’s group and later enroll in seminary. Looking back now, it is clear that my rock became the church – starting with its body of believers but slowly shifting to a deeper relationship with the Lord through the study of His Word.
Today, through my ups and downs, I am grateful for all of those who have stood by my side through my rock-bottom moments. But I have learned that even though people can be helpful in getting you through these difficult times, people are not rocks – they are imperfect, broken human beings just like me. Even the church is an imperfect place because it’s made up of these same imperfect people.
But God, in his mercy and grace, did send us a rock that we can always lean on, especially when we hit our lowest moments.
His name is Jesus.
What’s your rock at the bottom?
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2 NIV)