It takes two...

One of my all time favorite musicals is Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. The musical weaves together several of the well-known fairytales and one original story about a childless Baker and his wife. The Baker is convinced that he must go face the challenges and undo curses all by himself. But somewhere in the middle he changes and embraces the help his wife offers. The end result: they are able to undo the curse, have a son, and grow closer to one another. 

Sometimes we are just like the Baker. In our faith, we are convinced that we can do it alone. We compare our struggles and think, "mine aren't as bad, so I'll struggle through it." But the Enemy is cunning and wants to continue separating us, or cutting us off from one another. Our God is a communal god, meaning he works together in tandem with the Father, Son, and Spirit. The Enemy also works together with demons to trick and divide us. Like the Baker, we bravely (and a little recklessly) charge into the dark and scary woods. Fortunately, God is just like the Baker's wife and chases after us.