A Practice in Remembering Who Brings You Solace and Support

Please, take a little time to consider who strikes the rock for you when you are parched and need buoying by the waters of compassion, assistance, and acceptance. Who holds you in their heart when you are unable to hold yourself gently and tenderly? Who gives you the courage and will to keep on keeping on? Who leads you back to the well of inherent hope within you? I like to make two lists: one naming those who bring solace and support to me, and one naming people to whom I provide the water of love and hope.

“Sometimes we have to break down in order to break through,” a minister friend of mine said. This is true, but it is much safer and more productive to break down when help is standing nearby, ready to shore us up. Allowing friends and family into our hearts and souls during times of brokenness gives them the gift of being useful and gives us the gift of connection and support as we break through to the next step.

Excerpted from How to Stay Upbeat in a Beat Down World by Sue Patton Thoele. Available on Amazon.