You're Not The Only One

When you're in a valley, going through something hard, you feel like you are the only one on earth experiencing that type of pain at that moment. But the truth it, you aren't.No matter how minor or major the situation is or seems, you are not alone.I shared a blog post a couple weeks ago about quitting my dream job, and I never could have imagined the response I got.I was fully expecting for everyone to think I was totally deranged and stupid because that's how I felt.But it was quite the opposite. SO many people poured out love and encouragement and said they were proud of me. Yes, proud of me. I was shocked, too. Then I just wept because I realized that people want to see people they love, and even people they don't know, happy. It inadvertently makes us happier.We are all here wanting love, so we have to give it. And we are all one big world, one big community, cheering each other on. So, no, you're not alone. You are not the only one facing what you're facing. Don't believe for one second the lies that say you are alone.Dozens and dozens of people messaged me after reading that post and shared their similar struggles. It was just a big massive response of, "Me too."As soon as I wrote that post and shared it with the world, I released it to the universe and to God. It was no longer my burden. Everyone who read it took it from me and took it for me and replaced it with love. I felt so much peace after I typed the last word.But even after that, I continued to feel more peace and reassurance that I had made the right decision during my time of desperation because I knew at least one person needed it. And as soon as the first person messaged me, I said out loud, "This is why I quit my job and this is why I told everyone about it."And then the messages flooded in with, "I want to quit my job too," "I want to break up with my boyfriend," "I want to change my major," "I want to move cities," and they all ended with, "But I've been too scared. Thank you for the inspiration."See, God used little ol' me and my little ol' difficult situation to bring glory to HIM and to bring inspiration, rest, peace, comfort to so many other people who realized they weren't the only ones.One of the most powerful stories a reader shared with me was that of her feeling that she had listened to God's signs "too late."This woman had moved to another country and had been there for five years, met a guy, and loved her life, but something was telling her to leave. She said she knew she needed to be out of the relationship and she knew she should move back to America, but she ignored God's calling.She finally decided to leave and move back home so she could spend more time with her grandson. It was hard for her to leave her boyfriend, but she committed to listening to God's calling. Her bags were packed and she was ready to make a huge move when she found out her son and grandson had been killed in a wreck.Too late.Those were the words that hit her like a ton of bricks.But it's never too late to listen to God. We can't ruin His plan for our lives and we can't stay off the path forever, no matter how many detours we take. So, she moved anyway because she knows God wanted her to.She connected with my story not because it was exactly the same but because we both had a choice to make concerning God's calling, and neither one of us found it easy.I heard plenty of other stories of a girl who had grown up wanting to be a lawyer and went to law school at the University of Alabama and was halfway through when she decided she wanted to quit and flip houses and go into the real estate business. She knows law won't make her happy.Another girl felt God calling her to a new city so she left friends, broke up with her boyfriend, found a new job and was miserable for months until she saw "the why" behind God calling her to move.The point is - we are all going through it. We are all figuring life out and making turns and trying to be happy, but there is a comfort in knowing there is always someone else going through either exactly what you're going through or something that can teach you about your situation. God did that on purpose. He formed relationships a long time ago because He knew how much we needed them. He knew our stories, our struggles, our hearts, our fears, our dreams, our joys would all match up in some way at some point. He made us so different and so alike at the same time - what a thoughtful God.So, in the midst of your struggle right now, right where you are, remember you are not the only one in the valley and you won't be the last one there either. Just like someone used what they learned from their lows, use what you're going through right now to help someone else. That's one of those "why" moments God gives us - He shows us that the reason why we struggle is sometimes not for us but for someone else. Our heartbreaks can help heal.  And He does something inside us during those moments and those seasons that remind us to live life like that - like every day, every situation, every rise, and every fall is not for us but for someone else, for everyone else. Less of us, more of Him. More of everyone else.You're not the only one,Kaitlin