Hello friends,

You may remember that my word for this year is peace.  So far I feel like I’ve been doing well. For starters, I put less pressure on myself to make sure I’m in bed by a certain time, to make sure I remember to fulfill a list of people I need to check in on weekly, and I am trying to take time each day to focus on my breathing.

Out of all three of these things I’ve been working on I believe the last one has been the most beneficial so far.  I had recently realized my breathing is more shallow than it should be. When I focus on breathing in and breathing out I find myself relaxing.   I believe this has improved my sleep and also helps me to fall asleep.   This is helped reduce my anxiety to make sure I get too bad too get “the right amount” of sleep.

I am still struggling with feeling like I need to check on a list filled with names. I realize this is partly

because of my personality, and partly because of my life experiences.  Growing up I didn’t really fit in especially once I got to middle school. I was an awkward kid who had very awkward social skills (and still do at times).  In high school, I started being bullied. However, I still tried my best to keep an upbeat somewhat hyper personality.   In college, I made it my mission for people to feel welcome when they came to the campus ministry that I had joined.

Once I was out of college, things slowly started to change.  I started meeting more and more people that had different types of struggles.  This is probably when I got deeper into the mindset of making people feel seen and not forgotten.  I made sure I checked in on my friends regularly.  As the years progressed, I started working hard harder to write cards, send texts, make phone calls to make sure people knew that they were being thought of, and that they were loved.  While, I loved writing the notes, making the phone calls, and writing texts. I began to feel more and more stressed and overwhelmed because there were so many people going through hard times.  Sometimes they were people that I knew personally and sometimes they would be church members that sat on the opposite side of the sanctuary that I had only said hello to in passing.  I constantly worried that I would forget somebody or leave them out.  I would feel guilty if someone had a doctors appointment and I forgot to follow up with them until the day after. I  somehow felt I had let them down because I was a day late in asking about the appointment.

There are verses in the Bible that talk about encouraging each other and carrying each other’s burdens.  These are the verses I have carried with me for years.  I have felt these verses very deeply. However, I have learned we have a community of a believers for a reason.  While it is important that I uplift and encourage other Christians, it is not something I was meant to do all by myself.  They call us a family of believers for a reason.  We share one another’s burdens so that everyone can carry the load together.  If someone shares their burden, it does not mean that I take that on alone.  So instead of trying to remember when the person all the way on the other side of the sanctuary has a doctor appointment, I am learning to let those that sit near or actually talk to that person be responsible for that.  I try to focus on those who sit near me, attend my Sunday school class, or are in my community group.   

You may be wondering why I share all of this, truth be told I have no idea. I have been struggling lately with knowing where I am meant to write about on my blog.  Since I was not sure, I decided to update you on my word of the year. I am hoping that something I said resonates with someone who reads this.  Life is hard remember, you are not alone. You have people around you to help share your burden.  Also remember that life is hard and you are not meant to carry everyone’s burdens all by yourself.

I encourage you to talk to other questions share your burden with each other and remember that we all go through this life together. No one should have to go alone and that includes you.

Feel free to leave a comment or contact me and let me know your thoughts.

I am a follower of Christ, I am not perfect, but I love Jesus.

Until Next Time,

Liz Allen