Hope Spoken {encouragement}
Thursday night Chris returned from an 8-day trip to the Dominican Republic.
Friday morning I headed south to the Hope Spoken conference.
After 8 days flying solo with the kids, I was feeling pretty tired. Couple tired with a LOT of anxiousness about the conference, I was a bit of a mess. My sister drove and I told her it was fine if she decided we should turn back and head home. At one point the gas tank was on Empty and I was hoping we’d get stranded (which actually really did happen to some friends!) Though it was not a blogging/social media conference, I knew a lot of bloggers/instagrammers would be there. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew large crowds were already overwhelming for me and I had never been in that kind of setting. Large crowds + introverts = not a good mix.
Turns out – it was an incredible weekend. One of the very best parts of the weekend for me was all the time with my sister. We usually have little ones running around and very seldom get time for long, deep conversations. Lesley is kind of super awesome and I am pretty sure everyone else at the conference was a little jealous that I get her as a sister (and that I convinced her to room with me). She’s super fun and she makes me laugh. And she was on cold medicine.
I went into the weekend tired and left feeling so incredibly encouraged.
Over the course of the weekend there were a few people there that read my blog and took the time to introduce themselves. I can’t begin to express how much their kind words meant to me. Social media is such a strange thing. I constantly feel the tension of protecting my family and the desire to be authentic. I never know how I come across on this blog. It is just words on a screen that I hope also carry a bit of me to the reader.
Encouragement is so powerful. There are a vast number of voices, often our own, that can tear us down. Make us second guess things. Leave us feeling broken and defeated. The power contained in a kind word, a story of affirmation, an awkward ‘hello – I like you’….well, it can change a life and certainly the course of a day. I came home from the weekend completely blown away by the kindness of others to me. I shared with Chris some of the conversations and just kept shaking my head at the wonder of it all.
This weekend I met so many beautiful women. Women who could laugh in the midst of tears. Women whose voices shook as they shared their stories. Women who were vulnerable, brave, fun and adventurous. Women who I can’t believe I get to call my friends.
I also left this weekend with a greater burden and ache that I want to be a fan, a cheerleader, a voice of encouragement. The reality is we all have our stories of heartache and joy. While some are walking through deep pain and brokenness, others are in seasons of great joy. But, we all have our stories. Most of us also just need a high-5, a “you can do this”, a “you made it today”….most of us need a voice that is cheering us on to just keep going. It is easy to find all the other voices, especially online.
If anything I left this weekend feelings so overwhelmed by the beautiful words of others to me and the deep desire to use my words in an encouraging way in the lives of others. Encouragement spoken. Life-giving words spoken. Hope spoken.
(Now as a random sidenote – A sweet woman stopped me to say hello and that she felt awkward because she felt like she knew me. I responded something like “I get that alot”….meaning that when people actually do say ‘hello’ to me, they usually say it feels awkward too. I didn’t mean that I get people coming up to me a lot, I actually don’t get it a lot. So, if you are reading this….I hope you knew what I meant. It has bothered me all weekend and your kind words in that conversation meant so much to me.)
