Powerful Pieces

it’s amazing how things happen in our lives. Sometimes we just coast along, with the wind at our back and we set the autopilot…

And then something catastrophic happens, and we’re jerked by the turbulence we encounter. “Survival of the fittest” doesn’t apply to the brokenest of hearts- without faith, we’d be permanently flattened with no hope of any sort of revival.

But we get up, dust ourselves off and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I always wondered how people went on, how they seemed so normal after a loss. People pouring out their hearts, feelings spilling out from hidden clay jars within their souls, tears spilling over the banks of pent-up sorrows. People drawn close, spirits connected, their sadness replaced with a serenity unexplained.

I don’t think any of us know exactly why we’re here, and our hindsight has us saying” oh, that explains this” “ now I know why I ended up there”… our purpose may be several purposes, may be what we do for certain people, it may be how we make a difference in society.

Its possible to be surrounded by people who care, and yet devastatingly alone. To be the one who makes other people laugh and be the entertainment, and then later secretly pray for something as simple as a hug, a touch. The absence of touch by someone who cares for you, is crippling emotionally. So many struggle with this seemingly basic need, pained every day by losing things that others sometimes take for granted.

And as we learn to navigate each day alone, there are many who silently cry at the thought of living a new life, now with no affection, and reduced brief fleeting hugs with acquaintances. A new life, chock full of eating alone, sleeping alone and outings alone. Always a friend, never more. So what is His plan is for us, will we ever know affection again? Or is that all a part of the past, to be remembered wistfully as holidays come and go. Nothing screams ALONE like a holiday… Thanksgiving and Christmas are the worst, because those are both family gatherings and magnify singleness. But also sweet because kind people invite the extremely single people, out of the goodness of their hearts, so that they won’t have to spend a gathering holiday alone. It’s the hardest time of the year for many people as they grapple with the whole idea of being single in a couples season. It can be a time of deep despair for those who are alone, a heartbreaking reminder of their one-ness. And a struggle to not feel like people pity you because you have no-one.

But there's so much that we can do to brighten our world. We can visit a local nursing home and just spend a few minutes with a few residents, volunteer somewhere whether it’s a hospital or a homeless shelter. I have a friend who hands out Christmas cards and Valentines cards at a nursing home- a beautiful soul who touches lives every day in some way. We can keep in touch with friends to let them know we're thinking of them.

To see people disfigured by traumas and sorrows and yet reach out to others who need comfort is inspiring. And something to aspire to. It’s easy to get caught up in everyday chaos and the rat race and forget what we have.

Hold your loved ones close, drink in what they mean to you. Sometimes all we want is for someone to tell us that we mean something, we matter in a way like no other.

And never stop being amazed at how things happen in our life. But do disengage the autopilot and live, feel every moment, see the beauty around you. Make awkward the new normal. Tell someone you love them if you do- tomorrow was never promised. You may wait for the perfect time to do something and then lose it completely while waiting for that perfect time. Live your life now, while you're still in it. Don't wait for the planets to align, or a cloud to send a sign, or your life to follow a timeline of goals. Live it now, learn to be unapologetic as you reach for your own hopes and dreams, those things aren't going to fall into your lap accidentally. Remove the roadblocks, the excuses, the fears( those aren't from God anyway) and just do it. The hands on the clock are still moving and no amount of wishing will slow them down.

You are loved beyond measure. You matter.

There’s power in finding peace in pieces. Now get out there.