Got Your Back

Been thinking about this phrase a lot.  It all started when I was reading a novel and the main character's entire relationship with his wife started when he rescued her from a riptide.  She was really fighting him and he calmed her by telling her it was ok, she was safe, he had her.

The expression means that someone is keeping you safe or watching out for you by making sure there isn't something behind you that you can't see that might harm you.  Basically an expression of unequivocal concern and support.

There are times in our lives when we need to have another's back.  As parents that is pretty much the rule - you pretty much always have your kids' back.  (It is a plus when the child has the parent's back!) It can also happen with good friends, even with "not so good" friends - we might sometimes find support from unexpected sources.  Spouses are frequently ones who back us up - I think we generally count on our spouse to have our back.

Usually this kind of support comes in an abstract way - not tangible like being saved from a riptide.  Someone will voice their agreement, or think of you when you need to talk, or bring you chocolate, or invite you somewhere - include you when perhaps you might not have expected to be included.

Once in awhile, it seems, we really need to have that clear declaration that someone cares enough to pledge their loyalty, their concern and their mindfulness. It can really help get us through a difficulty, climb out of that ravine, traverse that mountain...

I so love knowing that Heavenly Father - and the Savior are there.  They will always have my back.  Doesn't mean that I won't ever feel a sense of loneliness or maybe even desertion.  I need to keep my eyes on that eternal perspective.  Someone always has my back.  I'll try to be the kind of person that always has my eyes on another, having their back.