Reason #600
I always love the feeling of finishing up another round of 100. On the days I start a new "hundred," I feel like I should celebrate somehow. Eat a cupcake or something, you know. Anyway, today was an emotional day, and I so wish it could have been Friday. Unfortunately, we have two more days left this week, so hopefully tomorrow and Friday will be different.
Obviously, today is the anniversary of a significant event that happened in America 12 years ago. And so people would make comments here and there about how they couldn't believe it has been 12 years. I can't believe it either. Because although 12 years is a long time, it doesn't seem like it has been that long. I wondered if people talked about other significant events, such as the Civil War, the World Wars, the Great Depression, or the assassination of JFK twelve years after they ended. I don't know, but my heart hurt for the people who lost their loved ones 12 years ago today. And although I am sad for them, I definitely don't understand. Because no matter how you lose someone you love, loss is hard and, thankfully, that's one thing I've yet to face.
I bet the family members of those who lost their lives thought, "No one understands how I feel." I bet they felt like no one could relate. Because every story was different, and every relationship that was severed was different. And so those that were left here to mourn probably felt isolated. They probably felt like there was no one they could talk to who would get them. No one could speak the words they needed to hear. Because we all think differently, we all feel differently, we all see through a different lens, and I bet they just wished they had someone to relate to.
I don't know about you, but I find myself in this situation more often that I'd like. Facing situations in life that seem so defeating. Circumstances that seem overwhelming and I just don't know what to do. It's as if everything was going fine, and then the next moment I'm standing there with my mouth hanging open in shock. Life throws me a curve ball when I least expect it, and I feel so isolated. I think that no one will understand me. Know one will get what I'm trying to say. Truthfully, I don't really even know what I am trying to say sometimes. But I just want to be understood. I want someone to speak my language and relate to me. Not try to tell me how to feel better. Not try to tell me how to fix things or change them. I just want someone to know, and I mean, know me. To understand my complexities, to make sense of my emotions, and to walk alongside me so that I don't have to feel alone. I don't have to explain myself or even try to, they just know.
We went to session 2 of our Love & Respect study tonight, and this was part of the discussion. So often we just want to be understood by people. We want them to read our minds. To think like we think, the process like we process, to view things from our perspective. We just want them to get what we're saying. But the thing is, we weren't made that way. We weren't made to "get" one another. And even though we try to figure out thoughts, feelings, and actions, we can't. We can't get a handle on emotion. There is no clear, cookie cut answer, and so we begin to feel alone because it seems that no one understands us. We look for it in all the wrong places, putting incredible expectations on frail beings, only to realize that we don't even understand ourselves. And it's nights like these that I praise the Lord that He gets it.
Every heartache, disappointment, or frustration, He feels. When our hearts our heavy, He gets it. When we feel worn down, insecure, overwhelmed, and depressed, He understands. He knows why we feel the way we feel without being told. He gets our human emotions and can make sense of them all. He feels our burdens and bears our weights. He understands how to feels to hurt, to be humiliated, rejected, and unappreciated. He gets what we're saying when we got to Him and pour our hearts out. He doesn't need further explanation. He just knows. And so I find relief in that truth. Relief in the fact that when I feel so overwhelmed, misunderstood, or isolated, I can come before Him and find someone who can relate. Someone who knows exactly what I am feeling and thinking and can help me filter through it all. Someone who will stand beside me and share the heavy load until it's finally gone. And so I praise Him for understanding all of my complexities, but most of all, I praise Him for "getting me."
#600 - Because He understands my complexities and He really does "get me."
"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." - Psalm 139:1
Obviously, today is the anniversary of a significant event that happened in America 12 years ago. And so people would make comments here and there about how they couldn't believe it has been 12 years. I can't believe it either. Because although 12 years is a long time, it doesn't seem like it has been that long. I wondered if people talked about other significant events, such as the Civil War, the World Wars, the Great Depression, or the assassination of JFK twelve years after they ended. I don't know, but my heart hurt for the people who lost their loved ones 12 years ago today. And although I am sad for them, I definitely don't understand. Because no matter how you lose someone you love, loss is hard and, thankfully, that's one thing I've yet to face.
I bet the family members of those who lost their lives thought, "No one understands how I feel." I bet they felt like no one could relate. Because every story was different, and every relationship that was severed was different. And so those that were left here to mourn probably felt isolated. They probably felt like there was no one they could talk to who would get them. No one could speak the words they needed to hear. Because we all think differently, we all feel differently, we all see through a different lens, and I bet they just wished they had someone to relate to.
I don't know about you, but I find myself in this situation more often that I'd like. Facing situations in life that seem so defeating. Circumstances that seem overwhelming and I just don't know what to do. It's as if everything was going fine, and then the next moment I'm standing there with my mouth hanging open in shock. Life throws me a curve ball when I least expect it, and I feel so isolated. I think that no one will understand me. Know one will get what I'm trying to say. Truthfully, I don't really even know what I am trying to say sometimes. But I just want to be understood. I want someone to speak my language and relate to me. Not try to tell me how to feel better. Not try to tell me how to fix things or change them. I just want someone to know, and I mean, know me. To understand my complexities, to make sense of my emotions, and to walk alongside me so that I don't have to feel alone. I don't have to explain myself or even try to, they just know.
We went to session 2 of our Love & Respect study tonight, and this was part of the discussion. So often we just want to be understood by people. We want them to read our minds. To think like we think, the process like we process, to view things from our perspective. We just want them to get what we're saying. But the thing is, we weren't made that way. We weren't made to "get" one another. And even though we try to figure out thoughts, feelings, and actions, we can't. We can't get a handle on emotion. There is no clear, cookie cut answer, and so we begin to feel alone because it seems that no one understands us. We look for it in all the wrong places, putting incredible expectations on frail beings, only to realize that we don't even understand ourselves. And it's nights like these that I praise the Lord that He gets it.
Every heartache, disappointment, or frustration, He feels. When our hearts our heavy, He gets it. When we feel worn down, insecure, overwhelmed, and depressed, He understands. He knows why we feel the way we feel without being told. He gets our human emotions and can make sense of them all. He feels our burdens and bears our weights. He understands how to feels to hurt, to be humiliated, rejected, and unappreciated. He gets what we're saying when we got to Him and pour our hearts out. He doesn't need further explanation. He just knows. And so I find relief in that truth. Relief in the fact that when I feel so overwhelmed, misunderstood, or isolated, I can come before Him and find someone who can relate. Someone who knows exactly what I am feeling and thinking and can help me filter through it all. Someone who will stand beside me and share the heavy load until it's finally gone. And so I praise Him for understanding all of my complexities, but most of all, I praise Him for "getting me."
#600 - Because He understands my complexities and He really does "get me."
"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." - Psalm 139:1