🌿 Community and the People God Places in Our Path 🌿

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May 14 (edited) • Chats

Sweet friends, I'm writing this from the road tonight. My husband and I have been traveling across 6 states over the past few days — and tonight we are in state number 7.

It has been the most beautiful journey. Not just the miles, but the moments.

On Mother's Day, we stopped at cemeteries to honor our mothers and grandmothers. We spent precious time with one of my dearest friends. Monday night I had dinner with three former coworkers — women I worked with remotely when our companies merged together. Then Tuesday I had lunch with another remote coworker on my way to South Dakota. We were on the same team, just in different locations. I was in Florida. They were in Iowa.

Here's what made those meals so special.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿-𝗶𝗻-𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.

They were 1,300 miles away. They couldn't come sit with my mother-in-law so I could take a break. They couldn't bring me dinner. They couldn't help with the daily physical demands of caregiving.

But you know what they could do?

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱.

And sitting across from them at that dinner table, I realized something I didn't fully see back then:

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁.

Those phone calls. Those work conversations that turned into "how are you REALLY doing?" moments. Those women who just let me talk when I needed to talk and didn't try to fix everything — they helped carry me through one of the hardest seasons of my life.

They helped me not feel alone. They helped me not feel isolated. They helped me keep going.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.

Friend, if you're in the middle of your caregiving journey right now, please hear me: 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲. I know it's hard. I know you're exhausted. I know it feels like nobody understands. But God places people in our path for a reason — sometimes they're right next door and sometimes they're 1,300 miles away.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻.

And if you're on the other side — if you know a caregiver — can I gently encourage you? 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻.

You don't have to have answers. You don't have to solve anything. Just be present. And if you hear something you can help with, do it. That simple act of listening and showing up is more powerful than you know.

That's what this Circle is all about. We may be scattered across different cities and states, but we are connected. We listen. We encourage. We hold each other up.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲.

💜 Tell me — who has been YOUR unexpected support system? Who listened when you needed it most? I'd love to celebrate those people with you. ⬇️

Happy Wednesday, Sandy! 💜

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🌿 Community and the People God Places in Our Path 🌿