Sunday afternoon until this afternoon, I was at a retreat for rostered leaders in the church. This time is such a holy time for me…to gather with colleagues, listening to awesome speakers, and to have some time for rest and renewal. And little did I realize how this year, this was needed so very much.

As some of you know, this summer has been a crummy summer in terms of Mom’s health. So many questions and so much confusion. I have been pretty open about sharing to friends, but holding it close to my chest for others.

Yet on Monday morning, during our breakout time, one of my friend’s came up to me and asked if everything was ok. I replied that yes they were ok. Being such a great friend, she continued to ask that question and said “Let’s go for a walk.” We walked out into the beautiful North Dakota sun with my beloved North Dakota Badlands as our backdrop, sat down and continued our conversation.

After a few minutes of chatting, my friend looked at me and simply said, “You just don’t seem yourself. It seems to me that everything that is going on in your life is wearing on you.” As I sat there and listened, I realized that she was right. I looked at her and finally admitted “You know, you are probably right. I think it is wearing on me.”

Oh how often are we all guilty of taking care of everyone else, but not always taking care of ourselves. I’ll admit that I am pretty good at self-care, but there are times when self-care isn’t always my first priority. My friend totally called me out and said, “What are you doing to care for yourself?” I thought about it for a minute and said, “Time with friends, blogging, etc.” As I have reflected on our conversation, I have been thinking of more ways that I can take care of myself.

Because sometimes life has this way of wearing on us….wearing us much like a beloved shirt that needs to be discarded etc. Sometimes life has this way of wearing on us….and tearing us down. Sometimes life has this way of wearing on us….especially as I continue to ask God why.  And yet as I am reminded of how life can wear on us, I am also reminded of how God knows…God knows when life is wearing on us. God knows when to bring people like my friend Erin into our lives at the right times and places. God knows and continues to walk with us!

God especially doesn’t want life to wear on us. So God places people into our lives to walk that journey with us. After we spoke, I found myself sharing with several other friends/colleagues. To be honest, there is a part of me that holds pieces of our story close to my heart because I feel like I am always vomiting out words about our story. Yet what God reminded me the last several days is that God places people into our lives to be there for us, to listen to us, to be the shoulder to cry on or the ear to listen, and to hold a piece of each other’s worn stories (not to take it away from us, but to bear the burden with us) so life doesn’t wear on each of us so heavily!

I am linking up with my favorites this week: