For the weary and broken

I had written this for someone in particular, but felt that there are lots of us who could use these words. Read on sweet, broken Warrior.

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Dear Sister who is in anguish,

I know you have a tough decision ahead of you to make. I know your heart, mind and soul must be in absolute turmoil. At times you must feel overwhelmed by everyone’s opinions and yet at the same time feel so very alone.

I wish, I so wish I could ease your pain, your anxiety, your sense of anger and hopelessness. I wish I could step in, lift the heart-and-back breaking burden from you and place it onto my own shoulders. To place my hand on your cheek and softly say, “I’ve got this. We’ve got this. You’re not alone. I’m with you all the way.”

There is nothing like seeing a fellow sister in so much anguish. So while I wish I could change your circumstances, I know I can’t. And so I come, and I sit beside you. I wrap my arms around you, and let you sob into my shoulder. I say over and over again how much you are loved, how beautiful you are, that whatever decision you make doesn’t take away from your worth or beauty. That you have so much to offer this world. And you will – you will bless this world with your life, your laughter, your personality, your passions, your quirky ways 🙂 This will still happen whatever decision you make.

We women can do a good job of beating ourselves up. Telling ourselves we should have it together by now. We should basically be perfect. Sounds silly typing that out, but isn’t that what the voices in our head tell us?
But you know what the crazy thing is? There is no such thing as having it together! We’re ALL a wreck. We’re all stumbling along this path called life. We make good decisions, we make poor decisions. We help other people, we hurt other people.
And what happens if we listen to those critical voices in our head for too long, we can become critical, depressed, anxious, even violent.

To fight back, we must realize we will never be perfect. We will never have it together 100%. Or even 60%. And then instead of zooming in on our mistakes, our shortcomings, we zoom out and look at the beauty within ourselves and all around us. We point out what we do DO really well, whether that’s making people feel safe and loved, or bringing joy and laughter into our friends’ lives, or it’s nurturing plants and flowers, or baking one hell of a good pie. We do lots of things well and with passion. Is it messy? Absolutely! But that’s the thing. Beauty is not found in perfection. It’s found in the midst of our mess. It’s found in our authenticity. In our commitment to being real.

So as you wrestle with this turning point in your life, I want to call out the beauty within you. You are a valiant warrior. You are a lady worth loving and pursuing. You are needed in this world. Your dreams, your desires, your humor: oh how badly we need it.

Whatever decision you make, I want you to know you are not alone. Reread that: you.are.not.alone. And I encourage you to make a decision based on love, never on fear. Fear will snuff life right out of us. But love perpetuates life, laughter, and joy. Is there risk in loving? Absolutely. But there’s even greater risk in living in fear. Be free, my child. My sweet sister. You are passionately and completely loved. Rest in that. Run your life on that. Make decisions based on that.

Sincerely,
Your Friend