Hello, dear readers! This is your public service announcement that our regularly scheduled hope posts will be moving to Wednesdays! And we’re bringing back Weekend Whispers. I say “we” as if it’s more than me, but it’s just me doing all of this!
Anyway, on to our hope post!
This past weekend, I had a great conversation with someone about being involved with community.
I am an introvert. I also spent two years running away from church. Not God, but definitely church. With that being said, I spent two years with only work companions acting as my community.
Don’t get me wrong! They were great people. But I only saw them during my shifts at work. And they were hilarious, but could be quite crass.
Again, this isn’t me saying it was a bad thing.
I got a lot of positive from that experience.
I will say, though, that I was lucky that my companions weren’t against me and my beliefs, and didn’t try to tear me down.
Not everyone has been in that situation.
If you find yourself in a group of people who do match those descriptions (having them against you and your beliefs and trying to tear you down), run the other direction. I’m sure it’s going to be difficult, and there might be these little lies inside your mind telling you that it’s the best you deserve or that you can do… but you deserve people who build you up.
As I said above, I’m an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I can walk this life alone, closing myself off from all people.
We need to surround ourselves with people who support us and love us. We need to surround ourselves with people who have the same beliefs and values as us.
This doesn’t mean we cut all other people out of our lives completely, but when we have people with the same beliefs and values involved in our lives, it helps us keep our heads on straight.
This world has a way of trying to tear us down. Don’t assist it by hanging out with people you don’t even like.
You deserve happiness. You deserve to be built up. If you’re anything like me, it’s difficult to go out to unfamiliar places, but, my friends, it’s more than worth it.
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Brittany Stonestreet 