HOW comforting it is to be able to express your troubles to trusted friends – so accommodating, so generous with their time, so wise, and so strong…or so they seem.
They can tell if we’re not okay, even if we don’t say anything. Are we even aware when they are the ones hurting? Do we care to call even if we do not need anything?
One social media “hugot” line says, “The trouble with being strong is that nobody asks if you’re okay.”
Almost everybody forgets that strong people are also fully human. Some concerns do weigh them down at times. They also get hurt and irritated and there are moments when they themselves need the same emotional support that they freely offer.
Appreciate your friends and loved ones for always listening to your troubles and complaints. They help you unload. Just the fact that they listen to you patiently makes you feel secure.
Yes, they are not perfect (nobody is), but having them is a blessing! If you will just learn to accept them, including their flaws and idiosyncrasies, you won’t have to face your troubles alone.
If you can not bond with them on a regular basis, a text message or better yet, a phone call would be appreciated.
Reach out. Don’t wait to be asked. Call a friend not because you need anything, but simply because you want to bless another soul with your thoughtfulness. Just because you see a person smiling and not saying anything does not mean he/she is okay.
The people who are always there for you no matter what you go through deserve your love and loyalty. They helped you survive life’s blows. They helped you keep your sanity.
They were caring and sensitive enough to see the hurt in your eyes even if you did not say anything. Pray for the same gift, that you may be able to sense their hurts and that you may be strong enough to offer a shoulder to lean on. They deserve that.
Call them. Visit them! Reach out.
“So encourage each other and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Be a hope booster, not a hope buster!