The amazing thing about life is that God brings people into our lives at various stages. Some for a season and others for a lifetime. While it can be and really is refreshing to have people in your life support you as you navigate a difficult season, it is also important to realize when the season is over and you have received enough strength to be able to stand on your feet. Human tendency is to revel in the warmth of the attention and support you receive so much so that you forget to grow in that season and thus let the people go when it is time. Why keep playing the kid when someone else may need you through a difficult season in their own life?
With that said, worth mentioning also is that fact that someone in your life today needs to hear how much they have blessed you since your paths crossed. It may seem like a very insignificant thing but the amount of strength that a simple ‘thank you’ can bring to another’s life is beyond what words can express. I remember being revived literally in a moment when I was barely hanging in there by similar words from someone I had dealt with in a while.
It is easy to think about how far you have come and ignore the vessels that God has used in getting you to where you are as you pause to give Him thanks today. While it is true that God remains God and His purposes can not be thwarted by any man, it is also true that the vessels God uses to bless us as as much a blessing as the blessing they bring to us. When was the last time you thanked someone for their role in getting you to where you are today? Think out of your immediate circle and identify those people who have come through for you either through a word they said or an action they did.
Call them or just send them a short message letting them know how much value they have added to your life. That is being a blessing to them more than you can ever imagine. Maybe some of the action was not even directed at you but blessed you somehow, a ‘thank you’ is still appropriate. Thanking God not just for the good things of life but the bad as well has already been emphasized and I know you know that but wait a minute….
Are there other people who have been a source of pain for you? People who have hurt you more than bless you? People who have taken advantage of you at a time when you were vulnerable? Does it still hurt to think about the incident that happened many months or years ago? Did they even care that they had hurt you that deeply? I know this is where it gets even harder but try thinking of it this way. When they hurt you and subjected you to all that unbearable treatment and emotional torture, you grew stronger because of it. So in some way, they made you stronger and you need to thank God for them as well. Then trust God to give you the grace to thank them for what they did to you but don’t push yourself on that one. If it still hurts that bad, it is probably a sign that the healing process is still on so give it a little more time.
I told you a while back that screams have played a very important role in my growing up. This last category of individuals and the things they have put me through are what give my screams their therapeutic character. Feel like screaming as you think about that hurtful experience? It is alright to SSSSCCCCCRRRRREEEEEAAAAMMMM!!!!!!!!! Feel better now? I thought so too. :))
Happy Thanksgiving.
Journey with Della 