Fighting Secret Battles
I spent most of this week at the Nebraska cattle ranch. It was an awesome, productive, and exhausting week. As a little extra excitement, I had a car issue one morning. One of my tires was scarily low in air on my way to the farm, so I was scrambling to get it remedied. I needed to buy an air gauge, so I walked into a gas station to grab one. I sauntered up to the register, the cashier scanned the item, and I waved my chipped debit card over the sensor. "DECLINED." My card just got declined for a $4.24 purchase?!?!
The cashier looked at me with sympathy. "If you can't afford this, you're free to borrow mine. That's no problem at all."
I thanked him for his generosity, but said I would just use a different card. I processed the payment and walked back out to my ailing car. In this man's mind, there was a very real chance I literally had no money. That reality was on the table. The truth is, my account had dropped below zero because a larger contribution to my donor-advised fund processed quicker than I had anticipated. I screwed up and misjudged the timing. Yet, at the same time, I could have easily been fighting a secret battle that the cashier got a rare glimpse of.
That situation, combined with the fact that tens of millions of people will be losing government-provided food assistance beginning today, was a stark reminder that so many people are fighting secret battles. Your co-worker sitting in the cube next to you. The driver at the stoplight adjacent to your vehicle. The woman in front of you at the grocery store. The neighbor who lives next door to you. Any one of them could be fighting secret battles.
Here's the thing. Secret battles aren't reserved for people who look like they are fighting battles. Looks can be deceiving. Often, the people who are fighting the fiercest battles are the people you'd least expect.
Regardless of what you think of the food stamp situation, there's no denying that tens of millions of people (those impacted by the government shutdown and those who aren't) are fighting secret battles.
I have a few friends who are fighting secret battles as we speak. The only reason I know they are fighting these battles is that I have the honor of having intimate, sensitive conversations with people for a living.
Be vigilant. Keep your eyes open. People all around you are fighting secret battles. If we do our jobs well, we'll be in a position to step in with a much-needed hand-up. On the flip side, if you're fighting a secret battle of your own right now, don't be afraid to let someone know. Don't face it alone. Don't try to be a hero. We all need a hand-up at some point in life. Perhaps today is your day. God bless, and stay safe out there.
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