walls.....me too

I read this( below)  on Instagram last week and keep thinking about the Gospel and friendship and living a life well lived: 

 

Sometimes I think we forget the walls we put up. We stop noticing how much we have twisted and tangled ourselves to fit into what someone else says we should be. We get so good at curating the perfect image and spinning the perfect caption that we forget what it is to be really, really honest anymore. Because we convince ourselves that if we sat down across from someone and showed them who we really are….that it might not be enough for them. That it wouldn’t be pretty enough or young enough or pinnable enough or double-tap worthy enough. I think sometimes we forget what it is to allow ourselves to exhale. To come alongside someone with a bottle of wine and an over-sized sweatshirt, and lean in closer when they tell you everything that’s going wrong. To listen to really hear, not just to be the first to respond. To look them in the eye and not down at your phone. To nod your head and swirl your glass and let out a blues-y “mmmmm hmmmm.” And then when they’re done, to whisper the only two words in the English language that can really start to help heal people, the only two words that act like a cool salve to a stinging wound: “Me too.” Ohhh have I been there. Ohhh do I know how that feels. And you are NOT alone. So today, wherever you find yourself in the midst of the messy middle you’re currently walking through, I hope you read these words and hear me whispering, Me too, friend. Me too." Today on the blog, I am SO honored to be part of "The Real Me" series that my friend @lwakephoto started!

Mary Marantz ... from  instagram