Do you think of people when they aren’t around and understand what they don’t say? When you’re connected to people, you should.
What I mean by this is sometimes people say things without saying them because they’re afraid to admit they’re struggling and sometimes people pull back when they need you to lean in. Sometimes when a friend says “Just having a case of the Mondays” or “I’m just tired” they really mean “I need a friend”. When people don’t say what they need to say it’s not always because they don’t want you to listen…
Maybe it’s part of our human appointment to help keep people connected. Maybe when a person we care about says things that don’t sound together it’s our actual job to offer support in words of hope. Maybe it’s as simple as asking if they have anything we can pray for.
Maybe. But what about when we can’t? When we’re the spent ones and the ones who are tired and feeling less than our best? What about when we need the good vibes?
Maybe do it anyway. At some point the chain of negativity will break and it won’t be because you turned someone away, it’ll be because you turned it around. And if you’re the one who brings joy and hope back to another human…there’s a lot of healing in that for your own heart.
Deeper Than a Puddle 