When God Reminds You

Through Someone Else

Sometimes, the people who remind us of God's goodness arrive when we have almost forgotten how to see it for ourselves.

There comes a point when life has taken so much out of you that you haven't necessarily lost your faith, but you've lost some of your ability to feel the hope you once carried so naturally.

Between health struggles, complicated relationships, family difficulties and financial pressures, you become so focused on getting through each day that you forget what it feels like to look forward to one.

That has been me lately.

I've been showing up, doing what needs to be done and encouraging others to believe that their circumstances don't define their future. Yet, somewhere along the way, I began losing pieces of myself.

My zest for life faded. So did my whimsy, my excitement about the unexpected and that part of me that believes miracles can happen on an ordinary Tuesday.

As someone who coaches and encourages others, I've had to acknowledge something humbling: even those who help others find their way sometimes need someone to help them find theirs.

Then, someone came into my life who reminded me what it feels like to have my cup filled rather than constantly pouring from it.

The Unexpected Gift of Being Seen

For a long time, I've prayed for someone with whom I could share life genuinely.
Someone who sees beyond the parts of me that are easy to understand, someone with whom I can laugh, dream, be vulnerable and simply exist without always having to be the strong one.

I don't think she realises how much some of her words mean to me. Sometimes, she reminds me of things I already know, but have temporarily forgotten: that goodness still exists, that life can surprise us and that even in difficult seasons, beautiful things can happen.

Her presence hasn't taken away my struggles, nor is it her responsibility to fix them.
Instead, she has reminded me that I don't have to navigate everything with a closed heart.

It has made me think about the ways God answers prayers.

How often do we pray for something without knowing what the answer will look like?
We search for signs in the obvious places, forgetting that sometimes God's goodness reaches us through ordinary people who may never realise how much they mean to us.

I believe God works through people in ways they may never fully understand. Sometimes, a simple conversation or a few unexpected words can reach a place inside us that has grown weary and help it breathe again.

For me, she has been one of those reminders.

I Want My Whimsy Back

When life has hurt you enough, it becomes tempting to live defensively. You lower your expectations, prepare yourself for disappointment and hesitate to get excited about anything that might not work out.

Yet, in protecting yourself from disappointment, you can unknowingly begin protecting yourself from joy, too.

I don't want to live that way.

My circumstances should not convince me that beautiful things are unlikely to happen to me. I don't want to become so focused on surviving that I forget how to live.

I want my whimsy back.

I want to laugh without overthinking tomorrow, get excited about the little things, dream without immediately imagining everything that could go wrong and believe that life can still unfold in ways I never expected.

Some miracles begin quietly. A door opens. A conversation arrives at the right moment. Someone enters your life and reminds you what it feels like to be seen.

Sometimes, the miracle isn't that everything suddenly becomes easier. It is finding a reason to believe again while life is still difficult.

Perhaps that is the miracle I am learning not to overlook: the rediscovery of hope before the circumstances that tested it have even changed.

Loving Without Fear

Of course, finding something precious to you can be frightening, especially when life is already complicated.

Distance, responsibilities and personal struggles can leave you wondering whether circumstances might eventually pull you apart. I would be lying if I said those thoughts never crossed my mind.

I care about her. I care about what we are building and I want to fill her cup as she has filled mine. I want her to feel understood, supported and loved, even on the days when she doesn't feel strong herself, but I am learning that love cannot grow when fear takes up all the space.

I cannot spend so much time worrying about what might happen that I forget to appreciate what is happening now.

I don't know everything the future holds, but perhaps I don't need to. I can choose to show up, love intentionally and give something beautiful room to grow rather than allowing the fear of losing it to overshadow the joy of having it.

Perhaps God Has Been Reminding Me All Along

My faith doesn't make me immune to difficult seasons. It reminds me that I don't have to face them alone.

Sometimes, faith looks like continuing to pray when you don't have the words. Sometimes, it means admitting that you are tired and sometimes, it means allowing someone to care for you without feeling that you must always be the strong one.

I am grateful for the woman who has entered my life, for the way she makes me feel seen and for the unexpected ways her words have reached me, but I am also grateful for what this experience has reminded me about myself.

The woman who loves deeply is still here. The coach who believes in transformation is still here. The woman who finds wonder in ordinary moments and believes God can do more than we imagine is still here, too.

She may be tired. She may need a little reminding, but she is not gone.

Perhaps this season isn't asking me to become someone new. Perhaps it is asking me to make room for joy again, to receive as well as give and to remember that I am not only made for difficult days.

I know life won't always be easy. There will be more challenges, unanswered questions and moments when hope feels harder to hold on to, but my story is still unfolding. God is still God, even when I feel lost and I am still allowed to believe in good things.

Perhaps one of the greatest miracles is not that someone comes along and gives us a reason to believe in life again, but that through them, we remember the faith, hope and wonder that were never truly lost.

God has been reminding me all along. I simply needed to slow down enough to notice and perhaps, sometimes, the greatest gift isn't another reminder of how strong we are or how much more we can endure.

It is the gentle reminder that we don't always have to be strong. That we can be a work in progress and still be worthy of love. That we can help others find their way and still need someone to help us find ours.

Sometimes, God reaches us through another person's heart, reminding us that even when life has dimmed our light, it has not extinguished it.

Perhaps we haven't lost ourselves after all. Perhaps we are simply finding our way back.

With you on the journey,
– Storm Reagan
Life Coach | Lived Experience Guide