The next right thing

I've talked with several friends who each had incredibly difficult things happen this week (one of them, more than one). As a friend I want to be able to take at least some of the suffering so they don't have to carry it all. It's hard to know what to say or do to be able to support in a way that's actually helpful. 

Thinking back to my own times of darkness and unknowns, there's really nothing anyone can say or do to take it away. I had to just move through it, one step at a time. But simply being there with me, or offering little "thinking of you" treats or gifts helped me remember that I wasn't alone. 

Our daughter was playing "Frozen II" songs in the car today, and a song from it really hit me. The lyrics are long, but I'm sharing them all because they illustrate the journey we and our loved ones go through when hard times come. If we're not the one going through it, then we can at least know what the person could be experiencing so we can simply be there.

To tee it up, this is the song Anna sings when Elsa goes off on her own to a far-away location to get some answers, and she goes so far that Olaf disappears. So Anna is there, all alone , and feeling huge amounts of despair. She sings:

 

I've seen dark before
But not like this
This is cold
This is empty
This is numb

The life I knew is over
The lights are out
Hello, darkness
I'm ready to succumb

I follow you around
I always have
But you've gone to a place I cannot find

This grief has a gravity
It pulls me down
But a tiny voice whispers in my mind

"You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on
And do the next right thing"

Can there be a day beyond this night?
I don't know anymore what is true
I can't find my direction, I'm all alone
The only star that guided me was you

How to rise from the floor
When it's not you I'm rising for?
Just do the next right thing

Take a step, step again
It is all that I can to do
The next right thing

I won't look too far ahead
It's too much for me to take
But break it down to this next breath
This next step
This next choice is one that I can make

So I'll walk through this night
Stumbling blindly toward the light
And do the next right thing
And with the dawn, what comes then
When it's clear that everything will never be the same again?

Then I'll make the choice
To hear that voice
And do the next right thing

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Kristen Anderson-Lopez / Robert Lopez

The Next Right Thing lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company

 

This concept of "just do the next right thing" is powerful. Going through something hard takes a lot of emotional, mental, and even physical theory to navigate. But just focusing on doing the next right thing can move us forward, even if it's slow.

So the "next right thing" as a supporting friend is going to look different for each of these women, but I'm committed to showing up for them, just like Jesus would. I want them to know that they're not alone in their suffering and unknowns. I want to remind them that they are deeply loved by an all-knowing God, who created them, and hold their hand.