My thoughts were a million miles away and I didn’t even hear her call my name the first time.
When she said it the second time, I realized I’d been lost in thought.
“Hey, Kristen! How are you?” We were new friends.
On the outside, I had it together. But there was a swirling storm inside. I looked better than I felt.
I was living out my yes to God leading Mercy House. But I was having a hard day. I was tired and overwhelmed. I had more questions than answers and mostly, I felt so alone. I was facing impossibilities and I just wanted to quit.
“How are you?” People ask that question all the time. It’s a greeting, something to fill an awkward pause. But few wait for an answer.
This day, my friend did. She asked and then she waited.
Maybe I was desperate for the waiting. Maybe it was the kind of day where tears just brim. Maybe she really cared.
I believed the last and I decided to tell her exactly how I was doing.
I shared my burden, the struggle, the unknowns. The dark clouds began to clear.
Sometimes healing starts with a question.
I let her in. And she tasted my brokenness. As I wiped my tears and apologized for my awkward answer slash confession, she asked me what I wanted to happen. How did I want God to answer this big question mark in my life?
And so I told her. I confessed a dream I had told few people — a big, impossible dream, a best case scenario answer. I felt silly saying it out loud.
But I also felt bold. Like speaking it meant something.
She listened and then she did something so powerful. She didn’t say, “I’ll pray for you.” She prayed for me. Right there, in a hallway, with people passing by. She grabbed my hands and asked God for the impossible on my behalf.
Nothing changed. But everything was different. I felt like I had let someone in and more importantly, laid the weight of burden down.
That was nearly a year ago.
Last weekend, I saw my friend again for the first time since my hallway blubberfest.
And I got to share the most profound news with her: Just this week, God did the impossible. He answered that big question, the one I was bold enough to ask and she was courageous enough to pray over.
Here’s what happens when we take the time to love each other well:
- We bear one another’s burdens: I felt lighter, better after that hallway experience. My friend helped me give my burden to God that day.
- We are reminded we aren’t alone: Some days just asking and waiting is a gift to someone in need. She couldn’t fix my problem, but when I shared it, I wasn’t alone in it. She reminded me that God was with me by praying to Him for an answer.
- We are invited into the miracles: By letting her into my pain, my need, she got to experience the joy in the miracle.
So. How are you?
Really.!}.