We are all broken

We live in a world were everything is lived out on the internet.  Social media has created an unhealthy version of what we think reality is.  There are so many times when I get ready to post something, and rethink it because I am not sure what others might think. I am always worried about what others think. It is something I dislike about myself and wish I was less concerned with people’s opinions.  But that is the reality of it.  I, in no way, shape, or form, live a perfectly happy, drama free life.  I have 5 kids, a husband, a dog, 2 cats, and fish!  That alone leads to drama within our own walls.  We also have dealt with the death of my first husband, a loss of a father to 3 after a brief but difficult battle with cancer.  We have dealt with divorce, and new marriages, blending a family and balancing those major life changes, all while maintaining some sense of normalcy!  It is not easy!  Especially when there are outside forces that we cannot control that effect us and creates even more chaos.

Well let’s just keep things real folks!  Life is hard!  We all have skeletons in out closets.  We are all broken.  We all have our own personal struggles. We also all deal with hard things differently.  Some of us turn to God instantly.  Some of us turn to others, our supporters, friends or family.  Some of us turn to food, drugs, alcohol, and many other unhealthy and harmful things.  Some of us just want everyone else to feel our pain and hurt others.  Some of us just shut down completely.  There are so many different people in this world, so many different personality types and so many different ways to cope.

I have 5 kids who all deal with things in their own way.  My job as a parent is to figure out their way and help them cope in a healthy way.  Let them talk to me when they are ready.  Listen when they talk.  Encourage them. Give advice.  Give tools to help them cope in different situations.  Helping them to understand that these struggles are only temporary. Help them to move on and go forward.  To love them no matter what!  Teach them that nothing that they do will change my love for them.  I can’t fight their battles for them, but I can be there to hold them up after they are weary from battle and need to rest.

That is the same thing God wants from us.  He loves us unconditionally.  Without limits or strings.  He not only will hold us up during our struggles, but he will fight alongside us.  He will give us the strength to persevere.  His love is perfect, we are not.  We are broken, He can heal us.  His love is everlasting!