I can’t thank you enough

My dear friend, I cannot thank you enough.

Last week, I asked you to share your heart with me, and share you did. You overwhelmed me with your vulnerability, your courage and your stories.

You opened up about hurts and fears, about the messes and secret dreams. My heart beat a bit faster, resonating with your own. Me too.

Like you, I am intimately acquainted with the “not enoughs”  that stalk our minds. Not smart enough. Not thin enough. Not a good enough friend or wife or employee or parent. Comparison and highlight reels reinforce them with every social media swipe.

You told me you’re afraid of being stuck, and I know that fear well. I’ve scraped by, paycheck to paycheck or on unemployment, dreaming of getting out of my hometown, dreaming of loving and being loved. You’re not alone, watching scores of friends marry and birth beautiful children while you wonder if and when your turn will come. I feel those aches with you because they are not far in my past.

Sometimes, it’s hard to hold onto hope, you told me, and I wish you could have heard my resounding, “yes.” Maybe life is great on the outside, but internally you’re suffocating. Or you’re dealing with heartache or illness or injury and are fighting desperately to cling to some semblance of positivity. Oh, how I get it. I know that battle intimately and, of all things, this may be the one that has defined me. Please know you’re not fighting it alone.

There’s power in knowing we don’t walk alone, and you have all reminded me so many ways we’re walking together. But your words and honesty have given me much more than a “me too” moment. They’ve shown me how to serve you better.

It is my great joy to be salve to other wounded hearts and to water seeds of promise that might be dormant right now. Your vulnerability has shown me how to best do that.

So in the coming weeks, we’ll be talking about all these things. How do we give ourselves grace when we just don’t feel like enough? How do we cultivate hope when we feel forever stuck? When everything seems dark and hard, what can we do to create a bit of our own light?

The truth is, I’m not a mapmaker, but a fellow traveler. I don’t have it all figured out, and I sure don’t have the big picture view of how life works. But, like you, I’ve traveled some roads and, like you, hopefully gained something valuable to share. And that is my biggest hope.

Above all, thank you. Thank you for letting me share the journey with you.

<3 Sarah

PS, If you’re reading this and didn’t already share some feedback, I’d still love to hear from you! Just click here to go to last week’s post.