Day 48 - Be kind

Here's the thing... a lot of people are struggling right now. A LOT. Like I said, we have been struggling for quite awhile, but right now is the hardest time yet. Sometimes we don't know that others are struggling around us. I mean who wants to walk up to someone and say, "Hey, I am having a really hard time, but let's be friends"? I know I would rather people didn't know that we are struggling financially (which by the way is pretty hard with a public blog, especially when the web address is on the signature of your emails). I wish I could pretend everything was perfect, but I can't and I won't.

I made a new friend back in September (she is one of those friends who got the "pretty genes"). When I met her she was always dressed nice for work and from the outside I was picturing her perfect world with her adorable kids and her big house. I just assumed that she had everything. Do you know why we are friends now? Because for some reason we had great chemistry and almost immediately shared our lives with each other. Here I was embarrassed to tell her where we were living and our financial situation, but I did. It turned out she has been in the exact same situation as us. We have so much in common. Our friendship started off based on trust and understanding and if we wouldn't have had the courage to be honest with each other, we probably wouldn't still be friends (my friend moved away), but we are.

Not everyone is struggling financially; some are struggling emotionally and physically too. I have friends that are struggling in all arenas of life. We have landed on particularly hard times. I think that people need to be more authentic with each other and need to be more considerate of others. It goes back to the fact that your actions affect others, in a positive or negative way. We should think about the things we say, write on Facebook, how we interact with others, etc. I often put my foot in my mouth, but I am trying to change. I find that maybe we need to give others a little lead-way when they are obviously having a bad day. Or even if we are having a bad day(s), find time to be there for someone else. The only way we are going to get through these hard times is with each other. And if you are too busy trying to pretend that everything is perfect, you are going to miss out on real friendships (you are probably making someone else feel pretty crappy about themselves too). Imperfections make you unique. Struggles make you human. It's okay to show that you are vulnerable. People need that.

If you need me to pray for you I am here. You can email me at elhajs@aol.com anytime and I will add you to my prayer list.