A few years ago, I wrote about how annoying I find most clichés and those “encouragement” posters. I stand by what I wrote back then. Not only do people often toss a cliché at you to stop you from sharing your pain, but it’s hardly helpful to hear: “God never gives you more than you can handle” when you’re in the depths of despair.
I was reminded of this a few days ago when this poster popped up in my feed:
I was in bed at the time, trying to recover from a bad case of food poisoning. Empty yourself?! Yep, got that covered.
Do you notice that most of these “encouragement” posters always require some action from the person who is overwhelmed and exhausted already? “Bloom Where You Are Planted”. “Dream Big and Never Quit”. “Climb Mountains”. “Keep Moving Forward”.
Not really encouraging when it hurts to breathe and you can’t find the energy to move.
People are starting to make different versions of these posters and I love them. I was sent one the other day that said:
I cried when I read it. Someone saw me. They saw that I was in bed wiped out from my usual illnesses plus food poisoning. I hadn’t climbed any mountains. In fact, I hadn’t showered or changed out of my nightgown in days. I hadn’t done anything that merited the usual rewards for bravery. Yet, I was still complimented for being brave.
Now, that is real encouragement.
Nothing more was required of me. I didn’t have to do anything else to earn acceptability. I was loved in my fragile, broken state.
Remind you of anyone?
Our savior loves us like this. We don’t have to do “more” to gain his love. We don’t have to climb mountains. We simply have to accept him as he is.
And, isn’t that what we all want?
Read more of Ann’s contributions to allmomdoes here.
