Walking Beside the Weary
Presence, Patience, and the Long Road to Hope
Walking beside someone as they climb a steep, rugged mountain is not easy.
Watching them fight for every breath as they trudge forward, often unable to see their destination, is heartbreaking. Trying to reassure them that the summit truly exists is hard, especially when they have lost trust in most of humanity and don’t yet know whether they can trust you. No matter how much you pour into them, no matter how deeply you try to show that you care, doubt often lingers.
It is hard to watch them stumble and fall, to see them fight for the strength to stand again with bloody knees and broken bodies. It would be so much easier to gather the strength, grab hold of them, and drag them up the mountain. But you know the truth: you don’t have the energy or the ability to carry you both to the top. In fact, trying to do all the work for them, no matter how good your intentions, could cause both of you to fall.
So instead of rescuing them, you choose to stay.
You walk beside them, step by step. When they stop to rest, you rest with them. When each step feels like a battle, you encourage them and cheer them on. When they stumble backward, you help them find the strength to stand again. You gently remind them what’s waiting at the top of the mountain, and why reaching it matters. For me, this step is often the hardest part.
The journey looks different for everyone. Some take paths that lead nowhere, over and over again. Some choose dangerous routes that leave them wounded and worn, not quite the same as before. Some take the longest possible way. And no matter how clearly you try to point out a better path, they may refuse to take it.
It is so hard to watch.
Yet you don’t leave their side, no matter how frustrating or painful it becomes.
You can’t give up on these weary travelers, because you know what’s at the top of the mountain. You love them enough to want them to experience the fullness of joy you know is waiting there.
In my own life, I’ve often struggled not to step in and try to pull someone up the mountain for a while, especially when they are exhausted or on the verge of choosing a harmful path. I intervene, even knowing it won’t actually get them to the top any faster. Recently, I’ve walked through a season of watching more than one person I’ve invested deeply in experiencing major setbacks.
Let me tell you, knowing someone, pouring into their life, and then watching them fall back into the same patterns that led them into the valley in the first place is one of the hardest and most painful things to witness. It is frustrating to see momentum lost. It is heartbreaking to see them broken once again.
And yet, the Lord keeps reminding me that I am often that same weary traveler.
He walks beside me. He never stops loving me, no matter how often I wander off the path He has set before me. He never gives up on me. His love does not change.
So as long as I live, I pray that I never give up on the people He sends my way, especially each broken soul who walks through the doors of the Fenton Center of Hope. I pray for patience and wisdom for every journey I am invited to walk alongside, and for forgiveness when my grace runs thin. Above all, I hope to show each and every person the love of Christ, because it is only through Him that any of us ever reach the top of the mountain.
“You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalm 16:11
Hope Journal
