Did you read this “Relatable Post” and say “I can totally relate.” I did. If you’re like me you enjoy when someone “can relate” to something you are experiencing even if it is just implied.
Yesterday, I was at my physical therapy appointment and my therapist was telling me that over Christmas it was her goal to get her son potty trained. Instantly, I remembered those years with my children and how challenging they were. The more I shared my journey the more we realized how similar are stories are. We had a new connection, and it was really nice. We were both blessed by that connection. That is probably why it doesn’t take long for a room full of moms to start talking about labor and delivery much to men’s chagrin. We love when we find others that understand and have traveled a path like ours, especially a painful one. Somehow it takes away the loneliness that life’s difficulties seem full of.
The phrase “I can relate” seemed to really stick out to me this morning as I was headed back to my therapist so when I got home I thought that maybe there was something God was trying to tell me, something I should share with you.
It often helps me wrap my mind around what God may be saying to look up the words that are stuck in my head in a dictionary. I looked up “relate” in the Webster Dictionary and I found this: “to show or make a connection between things, to understand and like or have sympathy for someone.” Webster also defines “relate” as: “to tell (something, such as a story)” That is when it dawned on me. Could it be that one of the “every works together for good” ways God works is to let the tough stuff make me more relatable? Can this part of my story make a difference?
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
I see now that there was a group of people I could feel sorry for but not relate to until I, myself, had a miscarriage, went through a divorce, had a tragic accident and death in the family, or until I lost my father. Did I ever wish to relate to these people? No way. But the fact is now I do and God can actually use that for His glory. He can use me to tell my story of how my relationship with Jesus makes all the difference in every one those situations.
Now, as I go though the life experience of chronic illness, there are a whole new group of people I can make a real connection with. If I so chose, I can use this daily struggle to make myself more usable to God. I have become to this hurting world more “relatable” and my circle of influence has increased. I find in that thought an answer to prayers I have prayed. In that I find joy even in sorrow, beauty even in ashes and therefore, I find hope for my future.
My question for you is this; can what you are going through actually be making you more relatable? I am learning that it can if I chose to let it.Will you join me in allowing God to show you who you now relate to that you never did before and how that person needs to hear from you “I can relate”
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