You are not alone

Before you begin reading this, you should know a couple things. The first thing is that the things I blog about and the words I type on this page I do not consider my own. I don’t just sit down and decide when and about what I am going to blog about. Everything I share is things that I feel like God has placed on my heart. And I cannot tell you how rewarding and wonderful it is when I get to hear people tell me about how something I said related to them or connected to them. The second thing is God has pushed this so strongly on my heart today that I know one of you reading this needs to hear it. So don’t be shocked when you (whoever you are) reads this. Because God knew you needed to hear it. Maybe you’re ignoring Him because you think He doesn’t get it but He knew you would end up here. So He’s using me to get to you.

I’ve realized something over the past few days: growing up is not all fun and games like maybe we thought it would be when we were younger. Even in high school (when we thought we were adults but we definitely weren’t), the stuff that worried us were things like grades, being the best at our sport or in our band, making sure we could find the perfect prom dress and date. Problems that as adults we wish we had! Now it’s things like paying bills, making deadlines at work, managing relationships with our coworkers and maybe even our spouses, being there for family and friends going through some health issues that we don’t know all the answers to. Life is full of real deal scary stuff. Things that we can’t control. We wish we could, but we can’t. We don’t always have all the answers. Doctors don’t always have all the answers. Our friends don’t always have the answers. Our bosses don’t always have all the answers.

So we put our heads down and walk through the storms of life. Have you ever been hit by one of life’s tornados and while you are pushing through the winds and struggling just to stand, you look to the right and to the left and you think yourself “I am having to do this alone”? Have you ever had that thought? You can be surrounded by hundreds of people and still feel so alone. Because you look around and there is not a single person that can possible understand what you are going through. Maybe you have started isolating yourself from other people because you feel like no one can relate to the pain or stress or doubts you are dealing with. Maybe you have even started putting up a front around others because you don’t want them to know or ask what is wrong because then you have to talk about it and be open and vulnerable and that hurts even more. So you pretend like you have everything together and that life is great but really it’s not.

Now that you know I am talking to you, here’s what you need to know: you are not alone. There are bills that you don’t know how you are going to have the money for. (You are not alone.) Every time you see that person, they know just what to say to make you feel worse about yourself. (You are not alone.) Your insecurity is getting stronger and stronger but you try to hide it so no one will see your weakness. (You are not alone.) The diagnosis you or someone you love does not look good. (You are not alone.) You feel like no one is listening and that no one cares. (You are not alone.)

You are not alone. God has never left you. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) Yeah, you may have hit a bump in the road. That doesn’t mean God abandoned you. That doesn’t mean He doesn’t care. There is a constant battle going on for your heart and for your trust and for your soul. See the Devil wants you feel isolated. He wants you to feel unwanted. He wants you to feel unloved. You need to get those thoughts and those fears out of your head. You are treasured. You are loved. Unconditionally. You are strong. Because you have an army of angels surrounding you and a Heavenly Father who put His Spirit inside of you and He is fighting for you. And one day (and I know it doesn’t seem like this now) you will be able to look back from the other side with victory. And you are going to be able to share your story and touch so many others who don’t feel like anyone understands them. And you are going to make Satan regret ever trying to mess with you. Because God is going to use this hard time that you are going through in ways that are going to blow your mind! But until that day comes, wake up every day with the desire to fight. Fight for your self-esteem. Fight for your family. Fight for your health. Fight for your joy. Fight for your purpose.

So now you’re either one of two people: you are either currently in the fight or you know someone who is. If you are in the fight, find someone that can encourage you and pray for you and support you and love you. If you need someone but don’t know who, I’ll volunteer. You can send me a message or shoot me a text. Everything will be between you, me, and God. I would love to pray for you. And if you are the person that knows someone who is going through the fight, blow up their phone with encouragement. Attack them with hugs and love. Because I’m sure you have been through your own struggles and you know how it felt to know people were there for you. So be that for someone else.

You are not alone.