It's okay to not be okay

“Be tough”, “Have faith”, “You are strong”, the list of of phrases we tell ourselves when we hurt goes on and on. But the best advice I’ve ever gotten from a friend was “It’s okay to not be okay”. Giving ourselves permission to recognize our pain and process it is absolutely necessary for our mental and physical health.

With our lives being so busy, our fears of others judging and our internal protection mechanisms screaming hide that shit away, it’s hard to give ourselves that permission needed. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to feel the pain. To be, to cry, to scream, to run, to sleep, to reach out, to do whatever our heart burns for. A day, a week, a month, a year, whatever is necessary for you to say I wasn’t okay but now I am.

Although I completely know what anxiety, pain and depression look like bc of my past. I definitely don’t believe in accepting these things as a permanent fixture in our lives. Creation has seasons. A time to bloom & grow and a time to rest & release. We too go through seasons and sometimes those seasons can be dark and cold and feel barren.

But I choose to believe that through being free to feel, free to take time, free to speak out, free to be still - that there is always that day when we open the windows and His light comes flooding in. Where a refreshing rain of hope washes over us. And where there was once pain, beauty & strength blooms. Knowing that there is hope and knowing that we are not alone gives us strength to keep going.

So for those who need to hear this. It’s okay to not be okay. Rest. You are not alone. God’s perfect Love conquers all our fears and pain. If you’ve never known that love, I pray that you will. God’s love is the most beautiful, powerful miracle in all creation.