Day 345 blog

One thing I think we sometimes forget is that being there for people doesn’t have to be complicated.

Show up to the funeral. Show up at the hospital. Show up when someone gets bad news, when their world feels like it’s falling apart, or when they’re going through something they never expected to face.

Show up when someone is struggling, even if you don’t know what to say. Especially when you don’t know what to say.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to find the perfect words, offer the right advice, or somehow make everything better. But the truth is, there are moments in life when nothing we say can fix what’s happening. We can’t take away someone’s grief, change their circumstances, or give them all the answers they’re searching for.

And that’s okay.

You don’t have to fix someone’s pain to make a difference in their life. Sometimes, you just have to be willing to sit beside them in it.

Bring the meal. Make the phone call. Send the text. Drive across town. Sit in the waiting room. Give someone a hug when they don’t have the strength to ask for one. And if they don’t feel like talking, let them know they don’t have to.

Don’t wait until you know what to say. Don’t assume someone else will be there. Don’t convince yourself that your presence won’t make a difference just because you can’t change the situation.

Because years from now, people may not remember the exact words you said during one of the hardest moments of their lives. But they will remember who walked through the door. Who called to check on them. Who stayed a little longer. Who made them feel like they didn’t have to face everything alone.

I’ve always believed that the way we show up for people says so much about who we are. It’s easy to be around people when life is fun, when everyone is laughing, and when there is something to celebrate. It takes a different kind of heart to show up when things are uncomfortable, emotional, inconvenient, or heartbreaking.

That’s when your presence matters in ways you might never fully understand.

And I think this is one of the simplest ways we can live out our faith, too. Jesus showed compassion to people who were hurting. He saw people who others overlooked. He met people in their pain instead of requiring them to have everything figured out first. We don’t have to have all the answers to love people the way God calls us to love them.

We just have to be willing.

So, if someone you know is going through a difficult season, don’t overthink it. Reach out. Make the effort. Show up.

And if you’re the one struggling, remember that you don’t have to earn someone’s support by pretending you’re okay, either. Let people love you. Let them help you. You were never meant to navigate every difficult moment by yourself.

Life has a way of reminding us that tomorrow isn’t promised and that the moments we think we have plenty of time for are sometimes the ones we wish we had handled differently.

So love people while they’re here. Check on them while they’re hurting. Celebrate them while they’re living. And be the kind of person who doesn’t disappear when life gets hard.

You may not be able to change what someone is going through, but you can change how alone they feel while they’re going through it.

Sometimes, the greatest gift you can give another person isn’t advice, money, or a solution.

It’s simply being there.

Signed, Paulina.