Fear cloaked me last night. You’d have thought I would have been relieved having survived iPad D-Day, but worry still crippled me. The irony is too thick considering I was giving advice on how to conquer worry last week on my blog, and less than a week later Satan was whispering his sweet nothings to me. Again. And I was believing him. Too much to grade. Too little time. Too exhausted. I tried venting to my wife right before lights out, but it only helped a little. The moment I clicked my lamp off, sleep was an afterthought. My fear subsided enough to drift off into dream land, and that was when Satan got clever and tried to assault me through a nightmare.

I hardly ever remember my dreams, but the lightness of my slumber made this all too vivid. There I was lying on a cot amidst a school playground, trying to sleep. Of course the teenage kids around me made that next to impossible. Their anonymous faces kept me awake as I twisted and turned, never getting comfortable. One kid in particular declared his actual name was Satan. How original! He tugged at my cross necklace, attempting to break it off with no success. I bat my hand at him. Shoved him. Even told him off a few times. He never left! I had about had it when a very recognizable friend appeared. Her 6’1’’ frame dwarfed the kid, and all she had to say was, “Get away Satan!” He scurried away like a lost puppy.

I awoke this morning feeling a heck of a lot more refreshed than I did last night. The funny thing was that I was not inspired to say anything this morning. I was going to take a week off from blogging, but this story was too cool not to share! The theme was all too thick: God puts certain people in our lives that we should rely on to get through adversity. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith …” (Hebrews 12: 1-2a). So, who are your witnesses? Are they pointing you toward Christ? Are you making time for these people amongst the craziness that is life?

We’re all in this together. Don’t even think for a minute that you are the only one struggling. We all struggle. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. That is why we need positive Christian peers to uplift our spirits when the going gets tough. That Hebrews scripture above speaks to me, and I hope it does to you as well. Since those witnesses are around us, they all help us run the race, pointing us toward the ultimate: Christ. Our friends help us run this race, and we need them in life. The moment we abandon our Christian brothers and sisters, you set yourself on an island. Two are stronger than one! But don’t just stop at two. Build a dream team around you that will see you through it all. All the way to eternity.

(Tenth Avenue North agrees that “No Man is an Island.”  Check the song out below.”)