You're Not Alone {Coffee for Your Heart}

(via Holley Gerth)

(Photo by Tara Gourley)

This isn’t easy for me to talk about, but if people only talked about the easy stuff, this world would be in serious disarray--well, more serious. I’m going to be honest here; the type of honesty that requires trust, and that is something that I am still learning, slowly.

I have felt alone.

I have stood in the middle of a crowded room and have felt so desperately lonely that it nearly drowned me. This has happened in my own home.

I have been prone to anxiety attacks. I’ve sat on the floor, feeling like the world is caving in, and have only recently learned to text someone I trust when this happens.

I have laid alone in my bed and cried myself to sleep.

I know these feelings, and I know how real they can seem; so real that everything else looks fake and twisted in comparison. I have hid in corners and let the lie consume me: I am alone. I wasn’t. And dear soul, you aren’t either. Do you hear me? You. Are. Not. Alone. Not even a little. Not ever. I don’t know what you are going through today, but I know this: someone has walked that path before you. In these times, we can become convinced that no one else ever went through what we have; nobody could possibly know our pain. I have believed that, and I have been proved wrong.

No matter how perfect a person may seem, they still have scars.

No matter how flawed a person may seem (even you), they still have value.

I don’t know what trial you are facing, but I know that God has a plan. He is with you. Satan will try and isolate you; tell you that you’re not worth anybody’s time. That God doesn’t care about you. That if people knew what you have done, they wouldn’t understand; that they would reject you. That no one else has been through what you’re going through. Let me make this clear: Satan is a liar. “There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) He will make you feel isolated from your friends, your family, your God - the very ones you need to get through this. Do not listen to a word he says. Hear you me: you aren’t alone. You are cherished by many. You are God’s beloved.

Might I suggest something? Ask God to show you who you should talk to about what you’re going through. If He lays someone on your mind, reach out to them; tell them you’re struggling. Chances are, they’ve been through something similar; they’ve walked through those valleys. And if no one around you seems to understand? We have a God who went through every possible human trial and temptation; felt every weakness, and yet did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Is it sinking in yet?

I don’t want you to go one more day feeling like this, dear heart. Because no matter what you have been through, are facing today, will struggle with tomorrow … you’re not alone. Not even a smidgen.