Checking In...

Facebook has this really cool feature called 'memories' that does just what the name suggests; it stores your posts from previous years and then on a future date some of those posts will show up as memories. Depending on what is currently going on in your life, some of those memories will be good to see and reflect on and there may be some that you'd rather not give any mental energy to. Lately, the later has been my experience. As some of those memories that I'd rather forget began to resurface, I decided to take some time to go through my photos and do a cleanup. You know that old saying, "The eyes are the window to the soul"? I will be honest and admit that I never truly understood what that meant until I was scrolling through and deleting old Facebook photos; photos that made me want to cry. I was smiling, of course, and looked very happy but behind the smiles was much sadness, hurt and loneliness. I was actually able to see those feelings as I looked into my eyes in those photos. I thought that I was doing a good job of hiding what I was going through at the time from friends and family, and maybe to some degree, I did. Maybe some of them even suspected that my portrayed happiness was a front but wouldn't ask because they just didn't know how to.

In light of the recent tragic death of Chelsi Kryst, I have been asking myself whether or not I'm missing signs and clues of mental and/or emotional duress in the lives of those who are close to me. I try to be very intentional about being a good friend to my close friends and some family members whom I have close relationships with. I fall short sometimes but I try my best to be that one who is checking in on them, especially if I know that they are going through testing times. My prayer tonight is that I don't miss the signs, the clues, the changes in their voices and that I'm able to discern through text when I have a friend who is in trouble. I thank God for my support that I had when I was at my lowest and weakest - my kids and my friends, Carla and Zena, were there for me. They were my strength when I didn't have any more. They were my encouragement when I felt discouraged. They were intentional about checking in on me.

Today I want to encourage you to check in on your friends and loved ones. If you yourself need to be checked on, don't wait until someone does it; reach out to someone whom you trust and tell them that you need help. God never intended for us to go through life and its' troubles alone.