Dear Friends,

I just wanted you to know I’m guest posting about some deeply personal challenges on my friend Kristi Woods‘ blog today. My post is one in her incredible series, #YourStory. I just love her heart for Encouraging Women To Walk Deeper With God and am honored to have my words included there.

Below is a short excerpt of the post, but I do hope you’ll follow the link at the bottom to finish reading my story.

Pebbles of Pain

I recently recognized a bad habit I have developed.

I had finally arrived at the point where I needed to ask for professional help parenting my son.

But within minutes of reaching out, I learned that an acquaintance of mine had suffered a tremendous loss. Her full term baby had died just hours before she was scheduled for an induction.

Instantly my perspective changed and I felt foolish for feeling so helpless in my own situation. I thought I just needed to suck it up and move on. My struggle with a distraught seven year old seemed like a tiny pebble compared to the burden she was carrying.

The realization that other’s problems far outweigh our own can bring a certain helpful perspective. But it can also be dangerous if it causes us to ignore the load we haul. That danger comes in denying the existence of our own pain.

For the rest of the story and what I learned about overcoming the MESSES caused when we minimize our pain click here.