Love doesn’t make it easier, but it makes it easier.

We were not meant to go through this life alone. Community in the tangible sense, not just a word flippantly sprung off our tongues, may not make the burdens in our lives any less difficult, but knowing we belong, knowing we are loved, will make them easier to deal with in the day-to-day.

Love doesn’t make it easier, but it makes it easier.

Disconnection starts when we stop listening to other people’s words & when we stop using our own. Connection begins when we reach out instead of staying in, using our words first with God & then with the people who have earned the right to hear our story in its first drafts. We listen to their stories, they listen to ours, all of us listening for the sake of connection. Listening to understand, not reply.

We so desperately need to be using our words face to face, even if our living rooms are messy & our makeup isn’t done & the words take a while to get out. If we’re ever going to understand each other better we need to use our words. If we’re ever going to open up to our friends we need to use our words.

If we’re ever going to tell people about Jesus & all the good He has & continues to do for us – we need to use our words.

Just imagine, everyone collecting stories to tell of how God is speaking to them. The lessons they’re learning in the trenches of every day life. The battles they’re fighting. The wins they worked so hard for.

For our hearts to be united, we need a willingness to present the process we’re going through, not just the end product. It’s much more satisfying to celebrate the joyful occasions in our lives if we have people who understand the darkness we fought to get there.

I will advocate face to face sharing with your people over posting on social media every day, but – and this is coming from the girl who used to wish for the day social media would die – we’ve got a golden opportunity for connection on the internet. I’ve come to believe we need to learn how to tell the stories of our lives in person AND online.

After all, as Matthew Kelly says, the future belongs to storytellers.

“What will the future be like? Well, that depends very much on the stories we tell, the stories we listen to, and the stories we live.” 

It’s a dark, disconnected world out there. The world is full of people like you & me hungering for good news amidst the atrocities that are happening. The world is full of people like you & me aching for stories of other people honestly & openly engaging with the process, not just the highlight reel, of life. 

We need more than just surface level sharing, more than just stuff to show. We need more opportunities to say, “Mmm, what you’re going through? Me too. I see you. I may not be able to help your situation, I may not even have any words for you, but I’m listening to your story.”

Because while love doesn’t make it easier, it makes it easier.

– – –

PS. If you’ve come to the end of this & find yourself saying, “Amen, sistah!” could you do me a solid? Shoot an email to laura@laura-anne.ca answering these questions:

• Do you feel confident using your words? Why or why not?

Much thanks, friends. Share this, would ya?

xoxo

 

Give me a holla // Join me on the instagram