- It is okay not to be okay.
-For a great deal of time, I bottled my feelings up. Okay, okay..sometimes I still do this, but I'm getting better at it. I often feel like I need to be perfectly happy all of the time. Like, sadness cannot exist, only happiness. I felt like feeling anything except joy was like letting my guard down. But I am learning that it IS okay to feel. It IS okay to express how I am feeling constructively and safely. I AM allowed to have feelings other than happy. Being vulnerable gives someone a chance to truly experience me. - Protection can manifest itself as rejection.
-Let me say that again. Sometimes, when people reject you, it is actually God's protection...not human rejection. That is a hard concept to grasp. A dear friend shared this knowledge with me as I was confiding in her a troubling sorrow. She said, "You know, Hannah, maybe this person's rejection isn't rejection at all. Maybe it is God's protection of your heart, He's guarding your heart from hurt." Wow. I had never thought of something so complex as that. I oftentimes get deeply hurt when I feel as though I am being rejected. When God readjusted my thoughts, when I fixed my eyes on Him, I learned it is not rejection at all. It is His guidance. And I can think back to previous situations, previous feelings of rejection and, in fact, see Him protecting me through it all. - There is a season for everything.
-This one is really hard for me, but it is so true. There is a season for everything under the sun. There is a season for people to be in your lives. I had this very sweet and wise friend who was just in my life for two years, but she taught me more than anyone else has about Jesus. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I have learned that she was only there for a season. Now it is my turn to take what she has taught me and share it with others.This is true for other things as well. Suffering, for example. The Bible says that there is momentary suffering that is producing an everlasting weight of glory that far outweighs them all. I find comfort in the knowledge that my suffering, though momentary, is working for me. - It is okay to cut negativity out of your life
-I think a lot of people struggle with this one. If people are constantly bringing negativity into your life, it IS okay to cut them out. For quite some time, I thought it was me, I thought something was wrong with me. I didn't understand that some people just do not connect in an uplifting and positive way. And that is OKAY. Don't think that you have to change to be something different for them. You don't. Cutting negativity out of you life will bring so much peace and so much joy that you won't know what took you so long. This doesn't mean you shouldn't be civil or that you can't show kindness. It just means that they are not in that intimate level of friendship that they used to be. Try it. If you have people in your life that aren't good for you, free yourself from that chain. - People are always going to fail you.
-I still struggle with this, to be completely honest. And I know it is so wrong to be upset when people fail you, but my flesh gets the best of me. But people ARE going to fail you. Everyday. Show them grace. It is okay that they are human. It is okay for them to mess up, just like it is okay if you mess up. We aren't supposed to be perfect. Just as Christ has shown my more grace than I ever deserved, I should continually show others grace. - Dryer sheets reduce frizzy hairs.
-Most of these are deep, and I just wanted to lighten the mood. But yeah, its true :) - People hurt others because they are hurting.
-This is one of the most true statements in this post. Hurt people hurt people. That means, when someone hurts you, no matter how deep the wound, THEY are hurting. They do not mean to take their hurt out on you. Nonetheless, their wounds hurt. Remember this the next time someone hurts you. Try to see the pain they have caused you as a cry for help. They do not mean it. They are just hurt. - It is okay to let people in.
-This one kind of ties in to the first point. It is okay to let people into your life, to see the ugly places no one else has seen. Of course, the group of people you let completely in should be selective in a sense. Nevertheless, when you find a trustworthy group or individual, let them in. Be vulnerable with them. With vulnerability comes deeper understanding. If you want to be understood, you have to be honest. It is impossible to have a meaningful relationship if it is superficial. I know that in my life, I have had a deep fear of letting people in. I have always felt like letting people in would inevitably cause them to leave. Once they knew the real me, the me that I am not proud of, the me that isn't happy and that isn't perfect, they wouldn't like me. They would leave. But this is a lie. Letting people see that you aren't perfect, that you have a past, truly lets them love you even more. So let people in. Let that transform how you do relationships.
-Hannah
