right next to...

Most lives are spent...
Striving... 
Trying to become something great...
Working so hard to earn a title or dollar figure...
We lose sight of truth.
People become a means to an end...
And we forsake the treasure sitting...

Right next to us.

If people and relationships are of utmost importance to God...
They should be the same for us.
I am learning that the best gifts in my life...
Are the ones I keep tripping over when I am looking for something else.

Funny that it normally takes a lifetime to realize...
Just how valuable family is...
Nuclear and extended.

With all the obstacles we face in life...
"Together" is where encouragement happens...
Joy increases.
We are sharpened.
And, where the cheers of another...
Impart the courage we need to plunge deeper...

Into the waters of the unknown.

Truth is...
It is a gift to have a hand to hold...
Just ONE hand can change the very course of our lives.
Especially when legs are shaky...
And the ground feels so slick.

As brothers and sisters...
We are granted a most undeserved honor...
The blessing of breathing words that stir life...
Propelling those right next to us to fly...
To dream their biggest dreams...
Believe the impossible.

Reminding others of things we all too easily forget ourselves... 
That NOTHING is out of reach when God dwells within.

Too many times...
Mostly due to insecurities...
I far undervalued the importance of people in my life.

I gave way to the temptation to hide from those with greater gifts.
Now, this 36 year old baby...
Is learning about relationships...
From the Creator's perspective.

I am learning to celebrate the strengths of others...
They have much to teach...
And I am most hungry to learn.
Surrounding myself with experts in all the areas I fall short...
Honors those right next to me...
Fosters relationship...
And, much to my surprise...

Helps me grow into the woman I am supposed to be.

I need the Holy Spirit in me...
And, I desperately need Him in others.

The unsolicited love and encouragement...
Freely offered by those closest to us...
Are often...
Just the nourishment God designed...
To feed our hungry little souls.

All too often...
We are busy looking for some crazy sign from Heaven...
When the answer is right next to us...
At the grocery...
In class...
In our church...
At our workplace...
In our very homes.

It's crazy to think...
The very person right next to us...
Might just be the very person holding the key to the miracle we so desperately need.