Quotes About Support

You are not anyone's savior; you are a sister.

It is not our responsibility to fix every mess. If someone steps onto the scary ledge of truth, it is enough to acknowledge her courage and make this promise: I am here with you as your friend...

Treat other women like your sisters instead of rivals.

And even if someone is nasty, recognize the safe people who guard your story. They deserve to be in your stable and be trusted with your truth. As for the others? As Scott Stratten, author of UnMarketing says: "Don't try to win over the haters; you're not the jackass whisperer."2 (I will now abuse this phrase with reckless abandon.) That brings

We need each other, so we probably ought to practice radical grace, because our well-flaunted opinions are cold companions when real life hits.

One decent sermon cannot influence a disoriented person in the same way your consistent presence in her life can.

chronic homelessness, most having experienced at least one year on the street. The marks of such homelessness go much deeper than can be solved solely by the acquisition of a home.

My mom went back to college when she had four kids in high school, middle school, and elementary school, and it has always been a source of pride for me. She was a teacher in her heart and needed the degree to match, so she chased the dream long before it was convenient or well-timed or easy. Yes, she fell off the oat bran wagon (kindly recall 1990) and we got store-bought prom dresses, but we watched her fly. It never occurred to us to settle for less.

God is here and we are not alone. We can't deliver folks from their pits, but we can sure get in there with them until God does. Live long enough and it becomes clear that stuff is not the stuff of life. People are. We need each other, so we probably ought to practice radical grace, because our well-flaunted opinions are cold companions when real life hits.

This step is as simple as focusing on the problem at hand, writing down your goals, and then listing action steps and resources needed to accomplish each. (Author's note: I often need a helper to sort this part out. Impartial, strategic thinkers can sometimes see a clear path through what only feels muddy to us. A helping helper to help us think through who can help us and how.

cannot say this any plainer: there is no shame in securing counseling, therapy, medication if appropriate, and soul care. Rather, it is the strongest possible response to your own pain. Miles

If you are drowning in a sea your regular people are not equipped to swim in, if what you need is deeply rooted and requires the care of a professional, nothing is more courageous than saying this out loud and moving toward your own healing. As I mentioned earlier, the failure to ask for help when needed tends to perpetuate self-neglect much more than self-reliance.

the beginning of time, creation encountered its first problem: "It is not good for the man to be alone." Thus history began with human connection. Two are better than one, and togetherness is always superior to loneliness.

Send kindness out in big, generous waves, send it near and far, send it through texts and e-mails and calls and words and hugs, send it by showing up, send it by proximity, send it in casseroles, send it with a well-timed "me too," send it with abandon.

We can't deliver folks from their pits, but we can sure get in there with them until God does.

It was hard to make room for my friends. But I did it.

My best advice is just to show up and be truthful. Be the kind of friend you are hoping for.

With Maren around, it would be hard not to stay in good spirits. (Pun intended!)

The Universe is holding you in her arms - lean in

The people you surround yourself with are excellent mirrors for who you are and how much, or how little, you love yourself.

There's something called the Crab Effect. If you put a bunch of crabs in a bowl and if, while they're in there crawling all over each other, one of them tries to climb out, the rest of them will try to pull him back down instead of helping to push him out. No wonder they're called crabs.

If you work with great people, it will be a great experience. Even if you're shoveling shit.

When you hang out with whiners, pessimists, tweakers, bleakers, freakers-outers, and life-is-so-unfairers, it's an uphill climb to keep yourself in a positive headspace. Stay away from people who see limitless possibility as the reality. Surround yourself with people who act on their big ideas, who take action on making positive change in the world and who see nothing as out of their reach.

There's something called the Crab Effect. If you put a bunch of crabs in a bowl and if, while they're in there crawling all over each other, one of them tries to climb out, the rest of them will try to pull him back down instead of helping to push him out. No wonder they're called crabs. Imagine how different our world would be if we were less crab-like.