God’s Love Follows You
For the longest time, I always thought I was the same as everyone else. Everyone had a normal family, they were happy, and they had so many friends. It took me a while to realize that I wasn’t like everyone else.
Two years ago, I still believed this lie, and I was oblivious to the world in my home. My parents weren’t happy with each other. An argument that led to harsh words wasn’t uncommon. My sister’s best friend hadn’t been contributing to a good relationship. She often came home upset, and would lock herself in her room. I had fights with my Dad, which led to a cold relationship. I couldn’t be myself around him, and that led to sadness. I wasn’t paying attention to how I was treating my friends. I was so stuck up with myself, I had been horrible to everyone. Soon enough, it felt like they had all disappeared.
Soon, my school days stretched out into painful periods of waiting for the time that I could crawl into my bed and cry. I didn’t have a normal family, I wasn’t happy, and I didn’t have friends. In the following months, I was told that my parents were getting a divorce, and that my dad would be moving out of our house. This had a big effect on everyone. My mom was usually upset with figuring everything out. My sister was always locked in her room, and I would beg to be with her. During this time, I felt more alone than I ever had. I couldn’t talk with my sister, I didn’t have friends to talk to, and I didn’t want to upset my mom. This led to a long period of sadness, and depression. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, and I didn’t try to build any friendships. I eventually turned to my therapist to explain my feelings. I always felt like I could just spill out everything that I was feeling, and she would just listen.
Encouraging and truthful phrases can help someone in many ways. It can help someone mentally and emotionally feel better. The phrase that I’m focusing on is, “Even the broken are loved.” At this time in my life, hearing that phrase means a lot. I talked with my therapist about how I wished that I had a whole family, that I wished I had what everyone else had, and how it wasn’t fair. It took me a long time to realize that my family of three was a whole family. It might look different, but it was a family nonetheless. It took me a while to realize that I did have many friends who cared about me, and wanted to be there for me. I finally started to realize that even though this was sad and upsetting, it was good for me. I felt like I could finally be myself, and I finally felt happy. Hearing this phrase gave me a feeling of self-worth. Even though I looked different and my family looked different, I am loved by God.
Hebrews 12:1-3,
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” This Bible verse has always encouraged me to keep going, and to believe in God.
Words are a big part of life. They can be used to build us up, and also break us down. Harsh and angry words build unhealthy relationships, but kind and gentle words build healthy relationships.
I’ve always thought of harsh words like weighted blankets. The pressure of hateful words, that lead to harmful feelings weighing down on you. It feels uncomfortable, and unsafe. But kind words are like a soft, light blanket. They cause happy feelings, and peaceful thoughts. It feels warm and safe. We should always make people feel comfortable and safe around us, and build healthy relationships.