More alike than different

Here's the thing...I have come to realize we are sooooo much more alike than different. Now, I know most of you say...Yeah, I know that. But really. Do you realize that? So often in my everyday communication with the rest of the population, I have come face to face with the truth that we are all so alike. In my younger, much less wise days, I felt alone quite often. Now, by alone, I mean ALONE. I felt like I was dealing with issues that no one else was dealing with. I knew my "things" were not too terribly huge or significant but in the same breath, I felt like most people I encountered had it all goin' on and I was far from that place! For whatever reason, I did not have the "answer" to whatever quiz was being given. I thought everyone else did. Heck, sometimes I felt so far out of it that I not only did not have the answers to the quiz, I didn't even know we were having a quiz til after the papers were being handed in. Anyone follow me? (Sorry for the school analogies...I have three children all in grade school)
Well, let's fast forward. I have come to know that we are all so alike. This did not happen when I became an adult. This did not even happen when I got married or even when I started having children. This realization came to me when I was shown a side of our world that is the most important side. Faith. If you have been following this blog, you probably expected me to say that. Faith....such a wonderful thing. More specifically, my faith in Christ. (relax, I am not a bible thumper....I just love Jesus) Now, this was a process. I did not just wake up one day with faith in God. I was raised in a Christian home. A Catholic home to be specific. But the complete understanding of what that really meant did not occur until I became involved in a Mom's Group at a local church. I was invited to come to this group by an acquaintance. My family had just moved to town and I was LONELY!! Sooooo lonely. I had a not a twenty-two month old and a six month old. My husband was working hard and not home a ton. I did not realize this group was faith based and quite frankly I didn't care. I heard free child care, free coffee and adult conversation....I was there! If they required that I come naked, I still would have been there. Yeah...not kidding. Fast forward to now....This Mom's Group was wonderful. It was the beginning of an unfolding of my soul. I began to interact with other mom's, other wives, other human beings...in a way that was new to me. I began to learn biblical principles that had been IN my bible all along. I was seeing them for the first time, understanding them for the first time. Rather than seeing "other" moms and "other" women as having it all together, I began to see that we were all so similar. We just wanted to love our kids, love our husbands, be loved BY them, share our stories...and not be judged. We all needed encouragement that we were on the right path. I can to see... sometimes we all feel fat and ugly, sometimes we all feel like terrible moms, sometimes we all feel like we have no friends, sometimes we all feel alone. I now have Christ in my life (I thought I did before this but came to realize I did not). I have great days, good days, yucky days and down right horrible days. I have friends in my life that I have grown to love in such an incredible way. I can reach out to share heartache. I can reach out to share complete joy and feel their happiness for me. My faith, my continual walk with God showed me all this and more. I have come to learn that our enemy loves to make us think we are alone. The truth is we will never be alone or left behind...we just need to recognize this truth and walk in it. It is an active process. Can I encourage you to step out there and realize what I realized. We are all way more similar than different.