Sometimes God likes to hit me over the head with a brick. And today is one of those days.
As we sat around our discussion table at MOPS, it became so clear to me how universal our struggles are. Like many, I have experienced depression in my life. And that feeling can leave one with the sense of being alone in the world, the only one going through X, Y, or Z. We all shared at our table today, and shared some of our hearts. It was a table of nodding heads. What one felt, another had felt, too. No one was alone. What one had gone through, so had another. And so it went, all around the table. Isn’t that what MOPS is all about?? No mom alone, right? Yet in the middle of the ocean sometimes we can struggle to find the water. It is in those sacred spaces where we as women can share truthfully and lean on each other that we see we’re not alone, that we find company on the journey, that we see our stories aren’t so unique. It was one of those sacred spaces today at MOPS.
And what I learned most was two important lessons:
First, we are never truly alone. Of course, God is with us. That’s the ‘right’ answer, right?? But we don’t always have a tactile sense of that. And so God gives us community. There is ALWAYS someone nearby who has been there or is there yet even at the same time we are, if we could just scratch beneath the surface to see. I truly think God aches for us to find each other, if we would just take that first step. He gave us legs, but we need to walk. It’s like that.
The second important lesson I learned in this discussion is the importance of reaching out. And it’s sooooo easier said than done. We all acknowledged how scary it can feel. But it’s such a necessary lesson to hear. Again, it’s God hitting me over the head with a brick today. One of the ladies in our group said a wise thing… she would pray that the phone would just ring when she so needed it to, but then she realized that no one would know she was in that place if she kept silent, if she didn’t reach out and share. So, she took that brave first step of making a phone call. And then another. And in time, she found that support network she so desperately needed. And life got better, little by little. Anther mom shared her mantra, “Put on your Nikes and ‘Just do it!’” referring to her needing to be intentional about bringing people into her life. It was as simple as inviting some people over. But that first step made all the difference. It’s a lesson I needed to hear today, and I’ll bet a few others did too.
I share this with you so you can get that same message. You’re not alone. Reach out. It’s ok. When that little voice goes off inside your head saying, “Oh, just be quiet. I don’t want to be a burden, anyway. It’s really nothing. Oh, I’ll be fine on my own.” Tell that little voice to step off and SHUT UP! You should speak up, you won’t be a burden. Reach out. Someone out there is going through the exact same thing or has gone through something similar and is just waiting to be a helping hand. Take that first step. It may feel scary. But you’ll be OK and better off for sharing. Tell SOMEONE, today!! And, if the first person you call or talk to isn’t ‘it’, don’t worry, the next one will be. Try another. God puts us in communities to help and to be helped by each other. No doubt you are just around the corner from someone who will totally get it.
We all just want to know that today’s struggle won’t last forever. That there will be a way out. We will eventually be OK and that we’re not alone. God hit me over the head with a brick today, reminding me of just that. Please take this message to heart and pass it on. No mom, no woman, no human being should feel alone. There is community out there just waiting for YOU!
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