"I show up for everyone else's moments but mine happen alone—no one shows up for me."
How it sounds in your head: You were at their hospital bedside, their kid's recital, their housewarming. When it's your turn, you're alone or it's the bare minimum attendance. You throw the baby shower, organize the move, show up for the hard conversations. When you need someone, they're all suddenly too busy.
"And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
-- Matthew 28:20Religious teaching that godliness means perpetual self-sacrifice, creating an identity where you give endlessly but feel guilty asking for reciprocity.
The group chat is full of 'let me know what you need' for everyone else. When you finally vulnerably ask for help, it's met with 'I'll try' or read receipts with no response, proving you're everyone's support but no one's priority.
Widowed, foreign, poor, gleaning leftover grain alone with no safety net and no community. Boaz SAW her, commanded his workers to protect her, leave extra grain intentionally, invited her to eat at his table, and ultimately became her kinsman-redeemer—she went from alone in the field to covered, provided for, and family in one encounter.
I REFUSE the lie that I'm alone in my moments while I show up for everyone else. IT IS WRITTEN that Jesus is with me always, not conditionally or occasionally, but as constant reality regardless of who else shows up. I am not begging for scraps of support—I am Ruth in the field, and my Kinsman-Redeemer has already seen me, commanded blessing over me, and invited me to His table. The Father doesn't wait for me to serve enough to deserve support—He RAN to the Prodigal while he was still far off. IT IS WRITTEN that He will never leave me nor forsake me, that the Angel of the Lord encamps around me. I walk in the BARAK blessing of Abraham where God's presence and protection surround me constantly. I am not showing up alone—I am accompanied by Heaven every single moment.
The Father isn't keeping attendance records to see if you've shown up for enough people to finally deserve someone showing up for you. He's the Boaz who's already commanded His workers to leave extra grain in your field, who's already seen you and decided to cover you—not because you earned it, but because that's who He is.