Can there be many things more important than holding the rope for someone you love who is struggling to get back to shore?It was Loie who first used that phrase in conversations with me when she was far away and I was foundering on the rocks. Sometimes it's the only -- and the best -- thing we can do for those we love. Many of our biggest battles rage within, and our family and friends stand by helplessly. But they have an important job: holding the rope.
Lois and I are both fighting what she calls "the black dog," having a hard time counting our blessings and feeling guilty that we can't rise to the occasion. We don't trust the drugs but reach for them anyway. We look and look for the bootstraps and wonder where they are. We share trials and hopes. Any victory or joy of my loved ones lifts me up. Sometimes you get the bear. Sometimes the bear gets you.
But never underestimate the power of holding the rope.
3 comments:
I'm trying to figure out if it's a cosmic comedy that we are holding the rope for each other or if it actually may work? ;/
Probably a cosmic comedy, but it's like a tug of war. Neither of us is allowed to let go so that we don't end up plopping into the water and drowning. Arms getting tired? ;)
I was about to ask you the same thing!
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