Whenever your hopes and dreams appear to be headed in the wrong direction, it can be hard to be your own ‘light of guidance’ to the end of the tunnel. Sometimes you need a person there to help you snap out of your funk and get you back on track. And no one can do that better than family..Encouraging Word From Family
Whether it be your spouse, your children, parents, siblings, or simply someone very close to you, the love, understanding, and most importantly objective yet supportive view of family is always the one that will give you the “swift kick” you need to get back into play..Encouraging Word From Family
I just recently had this experience with my own family. For weeks on end I have seen more downs and frowns than smiles. So many different life events were happening for me at once that I began to feel as if I was losing my grip on reality. Over the past few days, I think that I have cried far more than any law allows, all the while dealing with some big-time issues and being forced to make some very difficult life-altering decisions..Encouraging Word From Family
I have to be real: I felt my faith losing ground. Fast. And I knew that my responsibilities would not do me the favor of pausing while I took needed time to sort everything out. Day in and day out, I was forced to put on a brave smiling face and keep it moving. Yet I was sinking, and needed a lifeline.
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That lifeline came in the form of my sister.
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My “BigSis” – who is well over a decade older than I am – must have sensed that something was off-kilter with me in spite of us living hundreds of miles apart. She was sharing photos and videos of encouragement via Facebook, and it prompted me to open up to her about my life’s happenings.
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Without delay, she responded to me with these words:
“Just remember you have to take the good the bad and the ugly. God knows what He’s doing just say thank you Lord in and for all things. God will never leave you, He got your back. Stay strong for your kids, you can do and go through, and get over all things because God is holding your hands and God sends angels before you. I Love you”
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Even though her words read in a gentle manner, because of the fact that she is my big sister, I imagined that if we had been in the same room as I poured out my feelings to her, it would have actually gone something like this:
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This of course made me smile, because I know she would have bopped me in the head like she used to do when I was a child and yell at me to simply “Pull myself together!!” 🙂
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Then, because I always tell my sister that she and Mary J Blige are twins :), I thought of this song, which is one of my “go-to” tunes whenever I am going through a rough time.
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With all of this, I began to feel stronger, more powerful than I had felt in a while. I felt my motivation and optimism returning to me.
Encouraging Word From Family
Why am I saying all of this? It is not just as a humongous “Thank You” and shout-out to my sister, but also to give you something to consider in your own world. Many times when life gets really bad, there is a tendency to shut out the rest of the world and try to deal with things alone. The problem of this is that it can lead to us unknowingly shutting out the not only the people who can give us the support and listening ear that we need, but also the people who love and care for us the most. And usually, those people are the members of your family..Encouraging Word From Family
When a sports team is trailing behind in a game, the coach does not bench all of the players and run out to finish the game all by themselves. Instead, they share with the team their view of what has happened, and relies on the members even more.
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It is the very same with life.
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So, next time you are faced with problems, refrain from trying to hold it all in to yourself. Seek out your family—blood related or otherwise considered—to have empathy, comfort, and encouragement during your journey. You will find that the most powerful gift that you have against feelings of discouragement and defeat is the power of family.
Encouraging Word From Family
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Wow!! What a beautiful article. Faith is so powerful; it make us want to move mountains, and yet, without it we don’t want to lift a toe out of the bed. Thank the Lord for your awesome Sister. there is nothing more beautiful to me than to have that close, spiritual connection with your blood ties. Thanks for sharing.
Greetings Hanifah! Thank you so much for your beautiful response! ~I appreciate you sharing here with me! 🙂
You’re blessed that you have someone close to you like your Big Sis. A lot of my female friendships have changed post-marriage and baby. I find that some of the most supportive people in my life are people who don’t know me – like the moms who read/watch my blog.
Greetings Joyce! Support is definitely important. As I get older, I am learning that the “where” of the support is not that important, but it is the level and depth of support that makes it great. You are truly blessed as well! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
Edna’s pep talk is awesome!
Greetings Jasmine! Yes — my most favorite part! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
I really felt this post, Makeba! I’m with you 101%! I don’t know where I would be had it not been for my older sister. I only have one, and four younger brothers. But she has been my strength and encouragement through the hard times too. So I know exactly what you’re writing about… it’s a blessing, indeed! Thanks for touching our hearts with this encouraging message.
Greetings Deone! Big sisters are indeed awesome! I am so glad that you could feel me on this one! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
Family support whether that family is real or virtual is a crucial part of making it thorugh adversity.
Greetings Janeane! Absolutely! Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
I am so happy to hear that you have someone in your life to help you! Life can throw us curve balls and make us doubt our faith and the path we are on… this is a natural feeling of life. PS I love The Incredibles!
Greetings Arelis! It most certainly can! Having someone there to not only be there for you, but to offer encouragement is a great blessing. I love the Incredibles too 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your story and being so transparent. It’s a very important topic especially because we as women in general tend to feel like we need to take on the world on our own. Thank God for family and friends and I’m glad you have such a great big sis. I’m sorry you’ve been having such a hard time and pray that things will start to look up for you 🙂
Greetings Christine! Thank you so very much for your kind words. 🙂 I appreciate you sharing here with me!
I can’t wait until my sister gets to the point where she’ll listen to my advice. I’m 14 years older than her, so whatever I tell her now (she’s 17), fall on deaf ears. She’s learning the hard way now, but she knows that once she decides to grow up, i’m here to help her figure out what NOT to do.
Greetings Amiyrah! I know what you are going through. Those “age 17–22 or-so” years can be tough ones to get some guidance and life lessons through on. You are definitely doing the right thing by just being there for her when the time comes that she is ready. And trust me, it will. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
sometimes i wonder what it would be like to have an older sibling. or a younger one.
Greetings Pammy Pam! It definitely has it’s ups and downs no doubt 😉 But overall, it’s good. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
This just made me miss my sister so much more. You are definitely right. There’s always that ONE person that you can count on to give it to you straight, but with so much love!
Greetings Natasha! I know how you feel, as I lost my other big sister to cancer a few years ago. She was like “the yogi” of the family LOL 😀 I miss her a lot. And yes, those older siblings are masters at being direct and loving at the same time –it amazes me! Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
I am working on this because I know I have the tendency to walk around like everything is going great, then when I’m alone I just break down && I KNOW speaking to someone helps, it always does. I just have to remember reaching out for help isn’t a sign of weakness.
Your clip from the Incredibles was perfect too! haha This post was right on time!
Greetings Jordan! I *so* feel you on this, as I do the very same myself sometimes. I am glad that this post was timely for you 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
I sometimes suck it up and go through things alone. Thanks for the reminder to reach out for support. I know I have great people in my circle who would want to be there for me.
Greetings Sheri! You are most welcome. I am glad that you enjoyed this one! Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂
It is great when you can be vulnerable and have people who love you step up and support you. I have recently had the experience of being vulnerable and having who I thought was a good friend turn away saying I was adding stress to her life. That was a tough blow. But the bright side is that it did show me how many other friends have been stepping up and offering support.
Greetings Chasing Joy! Wow, what an experience — and I love how you turned it around into something positive! Thank you so much for sharing here with me! 🙂