The real problem I have with all this FB praise/prayer request garbage is this: it short-circuits our attention spans to REAL tragedies. Real tragedies don't go away with some Motrin and a Jesus band-aid. Real tragedies live on for a LONG time, the effects sometimes take YEARS to overcome. This doesn't play well with the "pray for me because I have a head-ache crowd." I'm not trying to criticize their faith, we are told to "pray without ceasing". However, I have personally experienced the short-attention span syndrome - from both sides.
Before my husband left, I avoided people I dubbed "Debbie Downers". We all know those folks that never seem to catch a break. Their children are perpetually sick, nothing serious, just always something. They can't pay their bills, and are always broke, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. They can't seem to get a job/keep a job. The single mom that just can't ever get her house/car/life repaired. There always seems to be some drama brewing in the pot. Sometimes I would seek these people out just to make myself feel better about my situation. But mostly, I avoided them, because they ruined my picture that people that really follow Jesus don't struggle that much. So, if cornered by one of them, I would try to sneak away as quickly as possible with a murmered promise to "pray for them" and I would, sort of. I might throw in a "Lord, bless so and so because nothing ever seems to go right for them." - a half-hearted snarky prayer at best.
Then my husband left. I was faced with uncertaintly about everything. My life was black. I mean, so black that I literally counted the hours between waking and sleeping because sleep was the only respite I got thanks to some great pills. Black because there was nothing about my future that I could count on. Nothing. Black because he came back, only to leave again leaving my daughter and myself fully unsure of everything we ever knew. Black because how do you explain complicated adult screw-ups to precious children that don't deserve it? This went on for a year. A whole year of absolute uncertainty about tomorrow.
I learned a lot from this experience. While I never want to go back, I wouldn't trade it for anything either. First of all, I learned that no matter what, you can count on Jesus being there. He is the one that sustained me through all of the drama. I would not have made it without Him. Second, I gained an appreciation for all those "Debbie Downers" out there. Because some trauma's are REAL. They don't go away with a quick prayer and an Advil. Real traumas last for a lifetime. The people affected can't just put on their Jesus Band-Aid and get on with it, because they are constantly dealing with it.
Through my experience, very few people checked on me regularly. I became a "Debbie Downer". Not that I bemoaned my situation constantly, I didn't. If you asked me in passing how I was, I would always reply "Oh, I'm fine" even if I was very aware that I had ten hours between me and bedtime. But if you asked me, really asked me, how things were going, I would tell the truth. Most often it was, "I don't know, he said blah, blah, blah. I'm just relying on Jesus." Not perpetual downer stuff, just not chipper good news. The "pray for me I have a headache" crowd got tired of it - quick. I got the same brush off I had so often given myself - a lot. I was avoided -honestly I saw people at church change direction or look at me like a deer in the headlights if trapped. I'm so thankful my Jesus didn't act that way. I poured out my heart to Him, night after night, and He always listened and encouraged me.
I felt like something was wrong with me. I believed in Jesus, I was doing my best to follow Him, why wasn't this thing going away quickly? It's because life is hard. Really hard. Following Jesus doesn't mean your life will be perfect. It means you will face hardships, but you keep going. Our job as believers in Christ is not to avoid the unloveable/entrenched in drama crowd. Our job is to love them through it. No matter how long it takes.
The truth is, real tragedy lasts a lifetime. It doesn't go away quickly and easily. It doesn't work like that.
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