Do you find yourself in a difficult season? Are you hurting, suffering, carrying a heavy load? You are not alone.
"Come to me broken," I like to say. I LOVE broken people. I really do. Because broken people are real people. No one connects to perfection. No one relates to those who "have it all together". Sure, we may see those people and aspire to be like them, but genuine connection happens when we share with each other what isn't perfect. And that is a beautiful thing. It connects us, it brings us closer to each other and it makes us value relationship. And relationship is what we were designed for.
So first things first. If you are hurting and carrying a big burden, the best thing you can do for yourself in this moment is to reach out. We are not meant to be isolated. That's why solitary confinement is the ultimate punishment and exposed to it for too long, man literally goes crazy. So reach out. More importantly, reach out to someone who can help or has your best interest. Don't reach out to the guy sitting in his underwear dipping oreos in whiskey telling you "sure, come on over." Um probably not gonna get the best advice there. :/ So reach out to those who are living the way you desire to live and don't be afraid to say, help me get there. One thing that I've learned about happy people that may surprise you....they actually love to help others. You are not a burden. Happy people want other people to be happy and will do most anything to help you get there. But beware...misery loves company.
Secondly, know that whatever your burden is....GOD is bigger. I promise you, He is much, much bigger. Several years ago...I reached rock bottom. And I mean, a bottomless pit of muck. I was stuck so deep I KNEW I could not get out alone. It was either God or death. And I chose to ask Him to lift me out of the muck. What did I have to loose, right? And boy, did He ever! It didn't happen overnight. But what did happen immediately is I let go of the burden because I knew WHO I had given it to. So that gave me a sense of supernatural peace. A peace that transcends all human understanding. And once I did that, He began to place people in my path who helped me along my journey. And He'll do the same for you if you trust Him.
Third... (A bit of a warning....I don't intend for these next words to sound callous. I'm actually saying this with much compassion because I learned the hard way that people who just told me what I wanted to hear were not moving me forward. I needed people to speak some cold, hard truth to me). So thirdly, TAKE 100% responsibility for your life. These are profound words I read in the first chapter of The Success Principles by Jack Canfield years ago. I highly recommend the entire book but if you don't read the entire book, at least read the first chapter. So many of us waste an unfathomable amount of time not living to our greatest potential because we want to blame someone or something for why we can't have this or that. But the truth is, until you realize you hold the power to change and not whatever or whoever you are blaming, you will not change. You are the one who took the job. You are the one who stayed in bed, who listened to bad advice, who ate the oreos (dunked in whiskey)....Anyways, I get it! There are people and things in our path sometimes that knock us off course. It happens! There is evil in the world like it or not. There are also people that just don't know any better. But YOU get to decide if they are the thing still holding power over you. Just like you decide whether or not to brush your teeth in the morning, you can decide if you will let them continue to impact your journey. And you may say, well it's not fair because I'm stuck in this horrible job, situation, marriage etc. But what you control right now is your response to it. Because your outcome is directly tied to your response, not the event itself. Not the problem, but your attitude and response about the problem.
Let me get personal for a second if you're actually still reading. I have a heart condition I was born with that has caused me a lot of suffering throughout my life. I won't go into detail here but let's just say I've had more near death experiences than most people should think about before I hit the age of 30. But you know what, I don't even call that suffering. You know why? Because it gives me perspective. Every day, I'm truly grateful that my heart is beating another day. I'm truly grateful that I take a deep breath and my lungs expand the way they were designed. I'm truly grateful that I have so many relationships I hold dear to me. I'm so grateful to have found music in my life which brings me (and hopefully you) enjoyment. And I'm so grateful that God has me right where I am for a reason at this time of my life. I'm grateful if you are reading this for your life and the impact you are having upon those you love right now.
I'll leave you with this...when I was told by multiple cardiologists around the country that I had the highest risk of sudden death and there was nothing they could do for me, I listened to a certain song. Over and over and over. And it sustained me. And still sustains me whenever I'm facing trials. The song is Help Me Believe by Nicole Nordeman. Do yourself a favor....go sit in a quiet place, preferabley with headphones and no distractions and play this song. Close your eyes and picture yourself getting through this trial. Because you will. Whatever it is...YOU WILL get through this. And you'll come out stronger, with more perspective and more perseverance than you thought possible. So have faith. And believe...
