Who’s in Your Circle

Ecclesiastes 4:9 & 10 (Amplified)

“Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up.”

Ok, seriously, I was not a big fan of women.  I couldn’t stand getting in groups of them, bible studies with them, going to dinner with them.  I know, I sound like a horrible person but I know some of you can feel me. I hated the petty place it went too.  I couldn’t stand the feeling of fake, or wondering who is judging me even though they are talking super sweet to me.  Is what they are saying really true or are they just trying to be nice, eventually turning to their bff and spilling what they really feel.  Just so much, right? Wasn’t worth it. Easier to shut it off and run!

I had a few friends who wouldn’t allow me to stay in that place. They knew my struggle but just kept at me, chipping away a little at a time until I saw the beauty in having true, authentic relationships. I know my struggle had so much more to do with fear of the unknown.  I’m really good at prejudging things. You know, when you decide what someone is thinking or gonna do before anything even takes place? You’ve already set yourself up for the worst, so then you just get the ‘you know what’ outta there. Now when I see how far all of this has come, there’s no way in God’s green earth I’d still be breathing without some amazing and beautiful women in my life.  As scary as it is, we have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable at some point in order to know who’s in our corner. I just had so much baggage, so much crap that has gone down in my life so you assume when you start talking, they will look at you like you’ve got 15 eyeballs. There may be some that do, and at that point I give you full permission to run and run fast. You need your peeps to sit in the dirt with you and don’t even flinch when you tell them, yea, I slipped up. And for the record, your whole list of Facebook friends DO NOT need to be your bff’s. Take that pressure off right now. God will show your those few who need to know the depths of your soul.   I realized real quickly that although we may be on different playing fields in life, you can find peeps that totally fill up your team.

You are a gift and a treasure.  You deserve beautiful people around you that make you feel that way.  Let the wall down, allow yourself to be real. We all need our tribe. Sometimes they become our true family.

“When you find people who not only tolerate your quirks but celebrate them with glad cries of ‘me too!’ be sure to cherish them.  Because those weirdos are your tribe”