Coming Out Into The Light...

I have an aunt Suzi. She is my fun, crazy (in a good way) aunt. She is one of the people in my life who has had an impact on me. I was thinking about something she said to me once when I was going through a very difficult time. I was struggling with the changes happening in my life and doubting my ability to handle things. I will never forget what she said to me and I won't be able to write it the way she told it but I'm going to try.

She likened the life I had been living to living in a cave. The cave was dark, it was cold and it was damp. It was an awful environment. But I had survived in the cave and knew I could continue to survive in it. Once I had emerged out of the cave and come into the light, it was frightening. I couldn't see well and I wanted to go back in my cave. Despite knowing how awful it was in there, I had security in knowing I had and could survive in there. Staying out in the light scared me because I was not used to it. I didn't know anything different. And I wasn't sure how I would survive or if I even could survive out of the cave.

I am thinking about that today. Glad she told me that and that I chose to stay out of the cave and trust in myself, the Lord and others that I could survive and be in a better place.

Do You Validate?

Validation. We all seem to seek it. I know I've sought it. But what is it?

I was thinking about the ways I've sought validation and from who. Often times we tend to seek our validation from other people. Women seek it from men and men seek it from women. The problem with that is you are guaranteed to be let down. I spent a large chunk of my life seeking for validation through someone else, and I'm still guilty of doing it on occasion, but I've found that when we seek validation from ourselves and other healthy sources it doesn't seem to back fire. Why do I need to be validated through someone else anyway?