We're alive with Him!
So speak encouraging words to one another.
Build up hope so you'll all be together in this,
no one left out, no one left behind.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5 {The Message} ~
Let's be less absorbed in our empty stats, our futile self-promotion ... and instead turn the tables and aim the spotlight of grace on others. Let's work the room and spread the love, lend genuine support, offer the needed applause, grab the confetti, and pile on the affirmation.
Let's celebrate each other's awesome stories, courageous accomplishments, and hard-won wisdom. Let's rejoice with those who are rejoicing and grieve with those who sorrow.
Here's the challenge, friends ... to build each other up without any subtle expectation of any kind of payback.
And wonder of wonders, you just might never know how your own simple words, maybe even left in haste, impact another soul ... until their own heart overflows with a story that they're ready to share.
Like Lois did ...
'Earlier this year, I read a blog post by someone who was packing up and moving after 38 years in the same house. The writer, Linda Stoll, wrote about depersonalizing her beloved home to prepare it for listing, and about all the memories she would leave behind when she relocates to a new address in a different state.
In the comments section, I told her that the longest I've ever lived anywhere (as an adult) has been five years, so I could only imagine how hard it would be to do all that work after nearly four decades in the same place.
Her response stopped me in my tracks and triggered an internal dialogue that continued for weeks ...
{finish reading How I Feel is Not Who I Am}
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