Last month, when Hurricane Dorian neared North Carolina’s Outer Banks, some residents and non-residents alike were worried about a unique inhabitant on the islands. About 100 wild Spanish colonial mustangs typically spend their days frolicking on the beach. They have lived on the islands for 500 years now. Lots of people started to ask, what can be done to protect the horses?

So herd manager Meg Puckett announced a plan. The plan…was to do nothing. They would have food and water ready on nearby farms for after the storm, but as for protecting the horses, they said they would let the horses do what they have always done for the past 500 years. They instinctively head to higher ground. Next they will gather under sturdy oak trees and turn their backsides to the storm. And finally, they huddle together. They pack in tight as a herd. They provide strength and stability to one another that they would not have on their own.

These beautiful and brilliant horses have survived because they learned early on what we can too quickly forget or ignore. Life teaches us all too well that no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we plan, we can’t escape every storm. There are some problems for which our only recourse is to head for higher ground, reach high to the God who is always close, who never lets us go. Then hunker down and ride them out.

But that’s just one part of the story. The other part of the story is to go with a friend, or better yet, go with a herd. Gather together as many friends and family and church family as possible. The storms are real. And they can be really hard. But there’s strength and stability in numbers.

Paul puts it this way. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).”