ERRR, Rewind!
I am so excited to make this pivot.

A really dear friend of mine that deals with grief in her life that is different than mine said she had been reading my blog. She then expressed condolences for not being the community I have been looking for.

I made a mistake.

I discovered the community I have been looking for. Just because our problems don’t look the same doesn’t mean we can’t be the community for each other. I will tell you right now, I have been looking for community among people with the same problems that I have and I have felt very out of place.

We can have a community of people that are struggling, but doing their best to keep going. We all have such unique problems. Even if you find someone with the same problems you have, they will never have the same problems you have! We are all vastly different from vastly different backgrounds that have shaped us into vastly different people.

I decided it is time for a MAJOR pivot.

I want to redefine the community I am setting out to find/create/be apart of.

This is the community that I belong to;

1. Life hasn’t gone as you had hoped, but you are working with what you’ve got and you are giving it your all.
2. You are trying.
3. You are looking for healing.
4. You hope to be better every day.
5. You’re full of love, and if you’re not, you’re trying to be, and if you’re not, you hope to be trying to be soon.
6. You want to improve.
7. You are constantly recognizing how beautiful life can be.
8. You have hard days and want to be surrounded by other people that aren’t afraid to share that their life isn’t so perfect either.
9. You are considerate.
10. You also want to be apart of a community of healing and love.
11. You’re willing to be vulnerable.
12. You like to dig deep and find the gold within yourself.
13. You like to dig deep and find the gold within others.
14. You’re desperately trying to find the bright side of things, even when they don’t seem to be there.
15. You are understanding.
16. You are real

Even if you fit into even one of these criteria, you are the kind of person I want to create a community with.

In a recent conference, the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was referring to someone that was struggling with the very real pains life throws at us. President Russel M. Nelson offered one word for this suffering individual.

Myopic

” To be myopic is to lean so heavily on what we know that we fail to ask questions.”-President Nelson.

I was so sure that I had to find only the women that were like me that had incarcerated spouses that I was failing to see the incredible warriors surrounding me that are the exact community I need.

I was failing to ask “what do I really want in a community”

We all need the strength of each other to move forward and carry on. Sometimes that means creating a community with other people that are fighting their way through the thorns of life, even though their thorns are in a different garden.

We all desperately need each other because God uses us to teach each other. We each bring a unique perspective because of the unique struggles that have given us that perspective. How incredibly hard would it be to get through anything if we all had the same issues. We need each others strength and we need each other’s wisdom.

If you have a spouse that is incarcerated, lost a spouse, lost a child, lost a relationship, struggle with your marriage, struggle with your kids, struggle to have kids, or struggle with day to day life. If you’re depressed, anxious, nervous, scared, worried, disappointed, or any other emotion that feels too heavy to carry, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

If you feel you fit into any of the community criteria listed above, and you want to join a community of faith filled, resilient, strong, powerful, individuals, send me an email. Or join the Facebook group “Good Grief!” at https://www.facebook.com/groups/396957635089523
DISCLAIMER: The Facebook Page is a work in progress.

We all have shackles we’re trying to shine through.

We shine brighter when we combine our light.