August 2020 Love Letters: Day 8

Hello, darling!

How are you doing today? I hope you’ve managed to find at least one or two little bright spots throughout the day. One of my bright spots today (aside from you, of course) was an angry customer who managed to test my patience and reinforce my positivity. He helped me to remember my why, and reminded me of my days working in the hospital caring for cancer patients. Back then, the grumpy patients were my favorite; they still are. If you are being grumpy, I already know most of the time, it has nothing to do with me. However, I also know that I love the challenge of turning their day around and KNOW I can put a smile on their face or get a laugh out of them. Sure, I certainly have to work harder for it, but that’s part of why I love it so much.

It is my personal goal to put a smile on the face of whoever I am talking to at work, whether they are coworkers or customers, and I rarely fail. If you are not in a good mood, maybe you just need a perspective shift, and as you already know, my love, I am a silver linings type of woman. I have had a pretty challenging life – I know what it’s like to struggle, to put it mildly. Those challenges I have overcome in my life have shaped me into the strong, compassionate, resilient, and kind woman I am today. If I had not gone through what happened in my past, I wouldn’t have the sense of empathy that helps me to recognize and understand the pain of others.

Darling, you are not alone in this, though it may feel very lonely. None of us have a playbook for how to handle the pandemic, and it is even more important for us to be kind to each other nowadays. There is so much strife and upheaval externally; we are all collectively going through what is called the dark night of the soul. Many of our foundations are cracked, and there was just enough pressure to finally cause things to topple so we can be rebuilt. This period of solitude serves a purpose, too, though you may not yet know how to enjoy your own company. It wasn’t until I lived in my car that I learned to spend time solo, and really focus on growing my faith.

During that time of living in my car, I accomplished one of my biggest goals to date, and finished reading the entire Bible in 2018. Granted, it was an audio Bible from the YouVersion app, but that actually helped me so much to accomplish my goal. (I highly recommend that app to anyone who is looking to dig into the Bible and wants an easy way to do it.) If I had still been living in the houses I was in previously, I would not have made the time or space to accomplish that. I’d like to gently encourage you today, if you haven’t already started, to discover your faith and learn more about what a personal religion can truly be. It is wondrous, and can provide you with such an extraordinary sense of peace.

Because of my faith, I was able to turn that angry customer’s day around. He was laughing at the end of our call. The smile on his face came alive in his voice as I soothed and encouraged him to surrender his stubbornness and refusal to be happy until [fill in the blank]. So many of us are holding out on allowing ourselves to be at peace despite any external circumstances. Well, darling, it IS possible to have that…it all comes down to surrendering to God. I am not sure if you are familiar with the opening of the Serenity Prayer, but it’s a great place to start. I’ll share it in a moment, but I also want to leave you with homework to hit your knees tonight and thank God for every blessing in your life.

Even the struggles are intended to bless you, grow you, and shape you. It is possible to feel complete without needing an “other half”. God wants to be number one in your life, and at the center of every relationship you have. You are our heavenly Creator’s beloved darling, and this message you are reading comes from the Holy Spirit living inside each of us and is meant to pierce straight through your heart. You are free, my love, and the sooner you accept the forgiveness and amazing grace accessible to every single one of us, the sooner you will feel unbound. Tonight, I am thanking God for you. If there is anything specific you’d like me to pray about, please let me know. I promise to only ever speak life into you. I’ll leave you with these words, along with all the love I have to give. (PSST – there’s no limit to it. 😉 <3 )

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the SERENITY

To accept the things I cannot change

The COURAGE to change the things I can

And the WISDOM to know the difference.

Mama hugs forever,

L Joy