When it rains, it pours.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? How do you handle that?

Do you ever have a day where you feel like Sisyphus rolling the ball up the hill, only to watch it roll slowly back down before you get to the top? Yep, that was yesterday. In the world of education, we are never really “done”. The only way we can be done is if we stop learning or stop improving, and who wants that? It’s job security for sure, but it can make you a little crazy when you feel behind.

Ok- so no more talk about jobs, what about what happens in our personal lives when it snowballs? It’s never just one thing, is it? Someone gets sick, then something breaks, the dog throws up, then your mom calls because she can’t find the remote and can you come over to find it? I’m sure you can think of a recent scenario, I can think of several- just from this week!

Today I happened to talk to two different friends, and texted with one who all have overwhelming situations going on right now. One of them said to me “I just keep going and pretend that everything is ok.” I halfway agree. I do agree that we should not hide under the covers and wait for the situation to get better, but I don’t agree that we just pretend it’s peachy.

We aren’t islands, we need other people. They need us too! Yes, we need to keep moving forward, but it’s possible to feel the feelings and be in an uncomfortable place. What you need to know is that you are not alone. Just like the picture below, there is a hand reaching towards you, all you have to do is take it.

We are meant to share the load. How do we do that? We let others in. We allow them to get close and see what is really happening and how we are feeling. They probably can’t help solve our problem and may only be able to listen. That’s enough. If they offer to help you in some way, allow them to love on you.

After my friend (from the quote above) and I concluded the “business” part of our call today, we sat and talked about completely random things. She always makes me laugh and I hope I was able to uplift her in some way. I think so.

God puts people in our lives on purpose. I was meant to connect with those particular people today. Next time you are feeling a little behind, out of sorts, or overwhelmed in some way, phone a friend. You will be glad that you did. 🙂