Put down the gloves
It’s easy to put on a mask, especially across social media and to those who don’t know about your everyday struggles, and act like you are on a constant high. That everything in the world is peachy keen and challenges are few and far between. In most cases though, we all have struggles. We all face those days that leave us feeling weary, and those moments when fear + doubt seem to creep in. The beautiful thing is that we then have a choice, we can decide to show some vulnerability OR keep our secrets stored far away. We can continue to fight, to tread the water, to hide or we can make a decision to put the gloves down.
In this journey of ‘do I‘ or ‘don’t I‘ I’ve learned three things…
1. You are never forgotten. No matter how hard life might seem you have roadmap drawn specifically for you and your destiny awaits you. We were each created for a purpose and we each have a future filled with blessings and promises awaiting us. Someone was put in my path these last few weeks that reminded me that I’m not too far away from ‘home‘. That while I may be across the pond in a country that’s not my native, I’m still the person that I was uniquely created to be. We can try to run, we can sink back and hide away but we will never be forgotten. In those moments of feeling alone we can rest assured that we our positioned in specific places because someone, somewhere needs our smiles, our encouragement and our inspiration.
2. You have influence. Following on from what I touched on above, you have influence. If you’re a teacher you have precious hearts at the palm of your hand that are looking to you for guidance. If you work in business you may come across stressed out employees that could use a listening ear to combat the pressure they feel. If you’re in entertainment or sports you have a sphere of people who are looking up to you and watching your every move. Whatever the situation might be, you have a circle of influence. You can use these moments of trial or challenge to be vulnerable and inspire those who are watching.
3. We all have a story so never down play your miracle or testimony. This is a tough one for me. Spare me the pity party and listen to my heart. I was born with a life threatening condition called CF. I’ve shared some about this story here. I can choose to keep it hidden away or I can choose to share this part of who I am. I can also choose to beat myself up for the things I’m not ticking off my ever ending to do list OR I can choose to view every morning as a miracle and everyday a blessing. My story might be the very thing that causes another to share theirs. It can be the testimony to someone else who might need that extra bit of encouragement to keep going and keep moving. Let me be clear, this verdict that I was given at six months old is not my identity, it’s just part of my story. It’s the very thing that reminds me to make every moment count, the thing that reminds me that life is a precious gift. The beautiful thing is that we all have a story it’s just a choice on whether we choose to view it as an asset to our testimony, a building block to our faith and if we decide to view it as a means to inspire and encourage others.
This weekend my little bump that I referred to above is a two week hospital stay to tune up my lungs and get me back in tip-top shape. But even that can be viewed as a positive; it’s an opportunity to encourage the doctors and nurses that I come in contact with, the perfect time to tick off a little more of my running list and it reminds me of those little lessons that I listed above.
So what’s your story?