October 2025 On the Side: Comfort for Comfort

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez via UnSplash

by Shelly Wyrick

“I don’t want to do tomorrow,” I quietly admitted.
 
It was the night before our daughter’s surgery. With four kids, we’d somehow managed to avoid the operating room for the last 18 years. But not this time. It would be a simple laparoscopic procedure, and I was grateful for modern medicine and the resolution it offered. However, I had very little interest in the lack of control I would have over the following morning and the new level of trust it would require. 
 
After acknowledging this new territory, my husband turned to me and pointed out that when we got on the other side, we’d be better able to relate to so many others who have to go through this and so much more. He’s an authentically wise guy. 
 
God of all Comfort
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).  
 
God, in his unimaginable compassion for us, comforts us not only so that we can feel His love and support, but so that we can turn around and understand what others are going through and give them the presence, love, and support that they need. We are comforted so that we may comfort. 
 
Comfort for comfort- this is Side by Side. God is helping us, as medical spouses, so that we can, in turn, help others. Years ago, the wife of a medical student contacted me seeking guidance on how to be a supportive spouse. One of her questions was: How am I supposed to have dinner ready? I laughed. Not because it was a silly question, but because I knew exactly what she meant. You’d like to eat with your on-call husband, but you don’t know if he will be home for dinner in 20 minutes or 2 hours, or at all. It’s a thing! 
 
In her On the Side article last month, Laura McLean Thomas mentioned that “being married to a physician or dentist has different challenges than other marriages. Just as being married to a Marine or a long-distance truck driver has distinct challenges. One is not better than the other-they’re just different.”  She’s right, there are distinct challenges. Once you’ve been helped through some of those challenges, what an honor it is to turn and help others. 
 
If you need comfort as a medical spouse, we are here for you, and we are honored to have faced some of the same difficulties for such a time as this, and we know they go deeper than an over-cooked dinner. 
 
Cloud of Witnesses
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). 
 
Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses…lay aside the things that trip us up, run with endurance, eyes on Jesus. What a verse! I’ve often wondered about the “cloud of witnesses.” In context, the author has just finished listing out the faith Hall of Famers: Moses, Rahab, Gideon, David to name a few. So, this idea of a cloud of witnesses must imply looking back to the examples these people set before us. People who faced challenges greater than ours and prevailed in faith.
 
Last Monday, I got to experience this cloud in a new way. I sat in the surgical waiting room, staring at the screen that was supposed to update me on my patient (and seemingly never did). But we did not sit alone. We felt God’s comfort through the entire experience, through the prayers of our friends and family. I most assuredly felt like I was being carried through the morning, surrounded by a cloud of God’s witnesses. A sampling of my texts read:
 
“Praying for a smooth and successful surgery”
 
“I’m praying! Please let me know when she’s out.”
 
“My daughter asked me to send you a message to let yours know she is praying for her.”
 
“Dear Jesus…. surround Jared and Shelly with confidence that You will be in that OR…”
 
“We are praying for Mary’s surgery and her quick recovery. And for peace for you and Jared…”
 
I’m confident that Hebrews 12:1 refers to those saints listed in Hebrews 11, and others who have gone before us and crossed the finish line in victory. But I’m also confident that the prayers of the saints around us can carry us when we face trials. 
 
Comfort for comfort- this is Side by Side! What an honor to pray for one another and celebrate God’s victories together. If you need comfort, here we are! If you have comfort to offer, offer it here!
 
Heavenly Father, thank you for the women of Side by Side and for equipping us uniquely to serve where we are. Thank you for your perfect comfort in times of need, and help us to turn and offer a glimpse of that comfort to others. In Jesus' name, Amen!
 
Shelly Wyrick is wife to her manly medical man and mom to four kids ages ten to eighteen. She worked as a physical therapist before becoming a stay-at-home mom and freelance artist and writer, creating content to help families grow in Christ. You can connect with her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merge_inittogether/