One Foot in Front of the Other

They said to me, "The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire."  - Nehemiah 1:3 (NASB) 

Any fan of western movies has watched, on more than one occasion, a band of marauding Indians attack a frontier settlement setting homes on fire, looting and murdering the inhabitants. The raids would often conclude with kidnapped hostages being carried away to a tortuously slow death or prisoners destined to serve and live among their captors for the rest of their lives. Left behind would be a handful of wounded, dazed survivors with the often overwhelming task of picking up the pieces and rebuilding their lives. Although we would consider them as the "lucky ones", the ones who "lived to tell about it", their quality of life had deteriorated considerably. They were "barely alive".

There are countless people who are currently numbered among those we would call survivors. But they are not living the life of a hero as often depicted and glamorized in the media. They are just like the Jews in Nehemiah's day. Defenseless, vulnerable, dazed & distressed, they are barely putting one  foot in front of the other as they go about their day. Once vibrant, hopeful and full of life, they find themselves victimized by the the sudden "attack" of a natural disaster, a disease, an enemy, an unexpected loss, or their own sin. Regardless of the cause, the results are the same. They say they "are fine" when asked, but in the solitude of their own heart, they are "barely alive". A mere shadow of their former selves.

Do you know any survivors? Is it you? Help is on the way!