We Can’t Resuscitate Ourselves

I’ve been engrossed in the Damar Hamlin story for the last week. In the days that followed his collapse, before there were regular (and positive!) updates, I found myself thinking of him and checking on him multiple times a day.

It’s so clear that I’m not alone in this. People who I know that have no prior interest in football are tuned in, following along, praying, checking for updates. Because no one has ever witnessed anything quite like this before.

I’ve been unable to explain why this has captivated me. Maybe it’s because I’d never seen someone collapse in that way, or I’d never seen an ambulance actually on the football field. Maybe it’s because I love sports and the way they can impact the world, or maybe it’s just because I’m human and a Mom now and I couldn’t stop thinking about this moment of seemingly rare timing where all elements aligned and stopped this man’s heart.

I was in church Sunday, where my pastor showed images of our country on its knees and with heads bowed on national television, praying for this young man. My pastor referenced our self-help culture, our  “I can do it!”, “I can fix this!” mentality. We’re often guilty of trying to do it all by ourselves or even to save ourselves. It occurred to me that it’s possible this story has captivated me because it exposes that we can’t always be resilient and self-reliant. We can do a lot of things for ourselves, but this story reminds us that there are situations where we can’t pick ourselves back up, we can’t coach ourselves in all matters, we can’t self-diagnose and treat many of our ailments, we can’t resuscitate ourselves.  

We need community. We need prayer. We need support. We need love. We need each other.

So many people start the year with goals or with a vision board, thinking about what they hope to accomplish as individuals. Or with a word, some individual word for an individual person to guide the year ahead. And there is nothing wrong with these practices. You know I’m a big goal-setter and a huge proponent of self-reflection. But I’m challenging myself to remember that I can’t do it all alone. I need God, I need community, I need others. So, think about the year ahead and who you’ll lean on if the time comes. Who are you setting communal goals with? Who will you look to for help when a situation exceeds your abilities? Who will you have on your sideline that can revive you?