March 28: NO ONE'S GOING TO BELIEVE ANY OF OUR ANSWERS IF …

Affirmation: I am imperfect, and I am enough.

~~~~~

Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

Live Your Wholehearted Life 

Each day read thru the habits you want to cultivate and the habits to let go.

Cultivate: authenticity, self-compassion, resilience, gratitude & joy, intuition & trusting Faith, creativity, play & rest, calm & stillness, meaningful work, laughter, song & dance.

Let go of: what others think, perfectionism, numbing & powerlessness, fear of the dark & scarcity, need for certainty, comparison, exhaustion & productivity as self-worth, anxiety as a lifestyle, self-doubt & supposed to and being “cool” & in control.

~~~~~

Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews 

The Guided Decision 

I will seek wisdom

Sometimes the questions are complicated, but the answers are simple.

Knowing that wisdom waits to be gathered, I will actively search her out. 

~~~~~

Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

March 28

NO ONE'S GOING TO BELIEVE ANY OF OUR ANSWERS IF WE DON'T LET THEM KNOW WE HAVE QUESTIONS TOO. 

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 

JOHN 11:33 

 

Most people of faith go through times of questioning when the foundation cracks and we brace ourselves, waiting to see if the whole structure will crumble. Maybe a college student gets challenged by a respected professor. Or perhaps you see the behavior of someone who has been saying their faith is important to them and are so disappointed you might just walk away. You don't always hear people voicing their uncertainties, because the people up front who appear to have it together also seem to have all the answers. But doubt finds each of us at different times and in different ways. 

Most of us are constantly surrounded by unanswered questions. We wonder whether our kids will make it through their battle with addiction or what we'll find on the other side of stage-four cancer. We don't want someone else's answers, and we don't need someone's opinion, because more opinions just create more anxiety. What we really want to know is that we're not alone. We need to know someone else has endured nights of barely breathing and they kept waking up to new mornings. 

Over the years, I've learned the most compassionate response we can give some­one who's not okay is, "That must be really difficult." That, plus a hug. It doesn't resolve their question or relieve their fear, but it reminds them we're in this together. It removes the sense of shame we feel when we struggle in secret and removes the facade of needing to pretend we have the simple answer to really complex issues. Just enter into the ambiguity with the hurting people around you. Admit that you don't know what they are feeling, but you do know you're with them. They're not looking for a quick answer; they need a good friend. No one's going to believe any of our answers if we don't let them know we have a couple questions too. 

 

Who around you needs a hug and a reminder that you're with them?