On Drowning and Falling Apart

At the beginning of this summer I read an article about drowning. I learned some facts I never knew...some signs to watch for in my children while they're swimming. You see, drowning doesn't look like drowning. The article says, Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect...There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind.

In much the same way, people who are falling apart often don't look like they're broken. Our view from the outside is usually, If they look fine, they are fine.

Someone who's drowning is not going to stop, look at you, tell you they're drowning, ask for help, then go back to drowning.

Someone who's falling apart usually isn't going to stop the breaking process, tell you their deepest secrets, tell you they're falling apart, ask for help, and go back to falling apart. We usually find out when the damage is done:

an addict ends up in rehab
a couple divorces
sickness has claimed a life
a child is behind prison bars
a family member is dead at the hands of another.

We're often left wondering why they didn't tell us they needed help. Maybe it's because they couldn't. Sometimes when you're in over your head, you can't think clearly enough to take the appropriate measures to save your own life, much less ask for help.

We, friends, family, churches, need to make ourselves aware of the signs of falling...drowning. We need to get out of our comfort zones when something doesn't seem just right with another, and ask if we can help. We need to be prepared to step into the waters, and make ourselves available to help the drowning.