Five Things NOT to Say to a Friend in Crisis

We are all human. We all make mistakes, and to varying degrees, we are self-centered. We focus on our own troubles, but sometimes when a friend comes to us for a sympathetic ear and we've reached our quota of patience with that person, we'll say anything to shut them up.

The following are some of my favorite meaningless platitudes and I'm ashamed to say I've used one or two myself in the past...

1. "A year from now you'll look back and this will be just a bad memory."
Um. No. You don't know that. They could still be going through "it" and the situation could be much worse by then.

2. "God never gives us more than we can handle."
Of course he does. He never promised he wouldn't. People lose their minds, die, etc, all the time because they've been given more trouble than they could handle.

3. "You're stronger than you know."
What does that even mean? And how do you know how strong that person is?

4. "I got through it; you can get through it."
Be careful when you say this. You're saying the other person's situation is no worse than yours was. That they had all the mitigating factors, breaks, support, etc. that you did and you are passing judgement on them. You're probably wrong in your assessment and are attempting to compare apples to oranges.

5. "The situation couldn't possibly be as bad as you make it out to be."
LOL This friend is a moron.

A Thankful Day

I’m Thankful For…I’m thankful for those who’ve lied, for now I recognize truth

I’m thankful for those who treated me with cruelty, for now I recognize kindness

I’m thankful for those who’ve judged and falsely assumed, for now I understand acceptance

I’m thankful for enemies, for now I recognize friends

I’m thankful for hardship, for now I recognize plenty

I’m thankful for those who abandoned me, for now I recognize loyalty

I’m thankful for loss, for now I recognize the gift of loved ones

I’m thankful for failure, for I know I will recognize success if it arrives

I’m thankful I’ve looked upon the face of evil, for now I may recognize goodness

I’m thankful for pain, for now I recognize comfort

I’m thankful for hatred, for now I recognize love

But most of all, I’m thankful for the miracle that saved my child. Perhaps more than one miracle in a lifetime is too much to expect. I am grateful for the blessing of that one miracle, for it makes all the rest of it worthwhile.

As we celebrate this day of thankfulness, take a moment to appreciate your blessings and spare a thought, a prayer, for those in harm’s way and for those less fortunate.

No matter how deeply we believe our suffering to be; there is always another out there whose suffering is greater. And it may not always be whom we assume it to be…

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Antonia