I almost didn’t write this, because I felt weird writing it. Some people won’t understand and it may sound weird to others. But, I have written this far, so I might as well keep going.

You see, I think about you a lot. I get deep in thought about you sometimes. I care about you, I truly do. I know I have never met you, but I think about you. And knowing that you are reading this, makes me realize you are a lot like me or you know someone like me. I feel a connection to you that is unexplainable.

I really wonder if you are lonely. I wonder if you think you are the only one going through this world in constant fight-n-flight mode. I wonder if you think you are all alone as you flounder your way through adulthood. I wonder if you think you are the only hot-mess out there. I know this feeling. This feeling is all too familiar to me some days.

Being Different Can Make You Feel Like You Are All Alone

Being different can be lonely.

When I was a kid I had a hunch that I was different. Growing up I always thought it was bad or weird. So, as I went into my teen years I fought the difference and I started going along with the crowd. That got me into a bit of trouble. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame the crowd for my troubles. I blame myself and only myself. But, as I got older and went into adulthood I started embracing the difference and I realized I wanted to do things my way, better yet God’s way.

I soon figured out going God’s way isn’t always the most popular, even to church-going Christians. It’s uncomfortable to say the least! We alienate ourselves away from society if we aren’t careful for fear of being weird or different.

Me Too People

It wasn’t until adulthood I started meeting my “me too” people. You know the people.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in, of all places, Disney World. If you know me, you know Disney is my “happy place”. It’s my home-away-from-home. But, that season of my life was hard and at the time I couldn’t pinpoint why. I had all three kids with me for a work project in Disney World. I looked like I had just been run over by a truck and I was running on fumes. It wasn’t my kids’ fault, they were having a great time and I with them. But, something just didn’t feel right.

A woman came up to me, she must have seen everything I was feeling, and said, “Me too, my friend. You are not alone.”

She said nothing else, but I knew what she meant. She was one of my “me too’ people. She got me. And I wasn’t alone.

(Shortly after that trip I found out about my rare genetic heart condition, although we didn’t know how rare at the time. So, I was fighting even more of a battle than what I thought during that Disney World trip.)

Knowing that you are not alone is an amazing feeling, it’s a different level of happiness. We all yearn for that feeling whether we know it or not.

You Are Never Alone

I hope you know you are not alone. There is always someone who has gone before you, a pioneer of sorts. There is always a mentor or friend who is in the pits with you. You are never alone. You just need to find your “me too” people.

Today I am walking in a very lonely place. I am a pioneer of sorts. I have a rare genetic heart condition. I haven’t found my “me too” people in this walk. But, I know I will be someone else’s “me too” person. I do not wish this condition on anyone, but one day if someone else has to walk this journey and down the same path I will be their “me too” person.

I think about that woman at Disney World a lot. I yearn to find more “me too” people in my life. I too feel lonely at times. But, I remember the woman at Disney. If she found me in the big sea of people at Disney World, they can find me again and they can find you too.

If there is one feeling I could send through the internet it would be the feeling of being UN-alone. Not sure if that is a word, but I like it. I would string together some kind of feeling train to make you realize you are not alone.

Even though this is a tough season my family and I are going through, I have hope. And I only have hope because of grace. Hope of knowing we will get through this. Hope of knowing this too shall pass. Hope of knowing that my God is a Healer.

I hope you have a few loyal friends. I hope you know you are important. I hope you know you are loved.

So go be your different-self and find your “me too” people. They are out there.

And don’t ever forget, I think about you a lot and that means you are never alone.

Until next time….

~xoxo

Mandi

Being Different Can Make You Feel Like You Are All Alone

Copyright: artens123 / 123RF Stock Photo

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