Once, when on a tramp in South Westland, going along this range and up and over this mountain, my friend got scared. She’s very skilled in the outdoors. What we were doing was well within our experience. She just got scared.

In my opinion, something that’s worse than being scared is being scared and feeling alone. So I stayed with her. I said she could take her time and that I wouldn’t go ahead unless she wanted me to. Other than that, I didn’t really do much; I didn’t really say much. But when we got to the bottom, she said it was just what she needed.

Jesus told his disciples that he would not leave them alone. That they could have peace, because God’s Spirit would be with them (John 14:25-27).

Pretty much everyone gets scared, even if you wouldn’t really guess it. I think it’s interesting that Jesus’ response to people’s fear involved telling them that, if they wanted, God’s Spirit would be with them and would help them. I’ve found this to be true.

There are quite a few people who need an alongsider at the moment. Someone who will just quietly be there. It’s something we can do for each other. And it’s something that Jesus offers to do for us.