Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Last week Wednesday was a cold day on the Outer Banks, and we were looking for something to do. So, I became a card-carrying member of the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. When we showed up at the aquarium, we did some quick math and realized it was cheaper for the Mulder family to get a family membership to the aquarium than it was to pay for each individual person. Now we can all go back as many times as we want this year free of charge. It’s only an 8 hour drive each way, and if anyone wants to join us, guests get a 10% discount on admission with a member. All in all, it was a pretty good day.

Then I read last week’s Restore devotional. On the same day that I was having a good day, Chris was having a bad day. As soon as I read it, it hit me…I was supposed to send Chris a devotional for last week’s email before I left, and I completely forgot. I hoped that wasn’t the reason for his bad day (he assured me it was not).

I immediately thought of the passage from Ecclesiastes that two are better than one. The author gives a couple of reasons for that statement, but one of them is that when you fall down you have someone to help you up again. You could expand on that “falling down” to include dropping the ball on an assignment, messing up a task at work, forgetting an appointment, not to mention literally tripping and falling on your face. Two is better than one because you need someone to have your back–and it would be a pity if you didn’t have anyone there to help.

The question is, “who has your back?” And the quick follow-up, “whose back do YOU have?” If you aren’t sure of the answer, it might be something to start working on now, before you need someone to lend you a helping hand.