Coming Alongside

Our stories are great teachers where we gain precious insights and wisdom that not only benefits us but also those who cross our paths. Maybe we can’t see this while we are still writing particular chapters, but when we look back, we can’t help but think wow, we are survivors despite the scars we might bear!

A life-defining moment happened for me back in 2011 when life as I knew it changed, and I found myself at a crossroads of a broken dream. I don’t know if you can relate to the feeling of having the wind knocked out of you, and you get through another day with the limited strength that you can muster up. When all you can pray is help me!

In that difficult place, I knew I had two choices. The first one was to be hard on myself, give up and just exist, or the second was to be kind to myself, wipe the dirt off my knees and let God rebuild my life, but this time with a purpose bigger than my own four walls.

Rebuilding is it’s not a straightforward process. The rubble of the past needed to be removed in order to rebuild the new. I wish I could say it was a glamorous experience in fact, it was everything but that. It was a time of great loss on so many levels, but in that loss, I learnt lessons I never thought existed.

A few lessons being He really does give us beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3), and that life is not meant to be navigated in isolation, and strength can be found in the presence of others. Together is better!

Stories hold tremendous power because in them we can catch a glimpse of a person’s life experience and hope for a better day. We are reminded of our own story and that even though different, perhaps at the same time similar. Some things in life are universal, such as pain, loss, grief, joy and love, to name a few.

In a story, we can find the strength we need to take another step forward, even when we feel we are at the end of ourselves and want to give up. We can find inspiration to have a go or even to let go of things that we know are not good for us.

I truly believe that coming alongside others is one of life’s most precious gifts that one can give and receive. It’s knowing that you are not alone in the world and you really do matter.