Have you ever noticed we ask others how they’re doing or feeling when they have a cold or an injury or if a difficult event has just occurred but when it’s a persistent situation we tend not to bring it up? If my friend falls and sprains her ankle I will make a meal, help her around her house or simply visit to pass the time more quickly. But I may not ask her how she’s doing with the passing of her dad over a year ago. It’s something she is no doubt still dealing with, a part of the fabric of her daily life. She may seem fine; she doesn’t really bring it up and if she does it’s matter of fact, sandwiched in between updates on her husband and her job. She may make it look easy but it’s probably not.
I can tell you from experience, even if she no longer limps or the scar has healed and is no longer visible, her parents’ house cleaned out and sold, even if she never mentions the thing that broke her, that shattered her world, that left her questioning everything she has ever known and believed about life and herself, it is in every breath she takes. Don’t be afraid to bring it up. Don’t hesitate to acknowledge a seemingly healed hurt. She will be so appreciative of the recognition of a piece of her tapestry she wears like a second skin. Just like the support she gets from the people who love her.
