My People

My People
My matched set of grandchildren - Oliver and Cosette

Thursday, September 1, 2011

thankful thursday... friends are like bras....

This is one of those posts that my male readers, especially those who know me in real life, will wince and want to turn away... bear with me... there's a point.


I wear bras with underwire. Some people hate them... I consider them the best thing since sliced bread... best thing since refrigeration.... best thing since air conditioning. In other words... a necessary foundation for my every style.

And I'm very particular about my bras... I have a certain brand and style that I always wear. They're made well... they fit well... and we all need support we can depend on... both literally and figuratively.

Last Friday, as will periodically happen, my underwire broke. It was right in the middle of the day, right after lunch. Throughout the afternoon it sawed it's way through the cloth and went from being my secret support to being a method of torture that was continually impaling my girly parts.

As soon as I got home from work, I took that evil bra off and threw it away. It had gone from being a trusted method of support to being a source of pain.... and that's my point...

In your life... whether you're male or female... you have people you rely on for support... whether it's emotional, financial, spiritual... and a lot of times that support is comfortable, behind the scenes, and helps you present yourself in the best possible way.

For me, my prayer warriors are my unseen support... they lift me up... they keep me looking normal...they help me remain decent and respectable... they are comfort to me.... and sometimes, they start to wear out.

Not every method of support that becomes slightly frayed or less than perfect has to be tossed out... I can handle when the elastic doesn't snap back like it should... sometimes our burdens are too large for one personal to support ... sometimes they grow weary. I can adjust when one of the hooks falls off... it's no shame to have to use a safety pin to keep it together... I think most of us have relationships that have suffered damage but are still useful, you just have to be creative about ways to hold it together.

And every now and then there's someone in my life who goes from being gentle support to being a metal stake... stabbing into my chest... and for them... the only way to make sure they never hurt me again is to never put them in the position that they could be that close to my... um... heart.

I bet you have an imperfect support system that needs a little purging. I bet there are some relationships that provide virtually no support at all... like a camisole... it looks pretty and may dress things up a bit and make you feel special but ultimately, It's just for looks.

It's Thankful Thursday... and I'm thankful for... can you guess it?.... SUPPORT!
Where would i be without the love and support of my friends and family? Where would I be if people gave up on me and stopped trying to be my friend since I'm one of those worn out bras with support that is unreliable at times?

I'm thankful to have such a large, diverse support group... from all over the country and all over the world :waves to Wendy in Oz:... There are some friends who support me spiritually... some who help me laugh... some who make me feel secure...

I'm thankful for the friends who make me look pretty, who give me strength beyond what I have on my own...

I'm thankful for my "sports bras" who encourage me to get out among the three dimensional people...

I'm thankful for my "fancy bras" who help me dress up and feel special...

I'm thankful for those everyday, completely normal, "underwire bras" who support me day after day after day.

And I'm even thankful for the ability to know when it's time to throw a "bra" away... when it's support becomes painful... and it provides more hurt than help. I didn't always realize that pain was the indication that it was time for the "bra" to go... and would just settle for whatever I had in my lingerie drawer, rather than searching for something less painful.

Hope you survived this bra blog... tomorrow we'll talk about underwear... wedgies and such. (Just kidding)

Happy September, y'all! Pray us through two more days this week, would you?

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh I'm laughing and crying. Yes, I too had a support I had to throw aside. The support became harshly judgemental and constantly opinionated to the point of overbearing. I didn't want that, didn't ask for it & made a new way without out. The way it came to head was as ugly as the "support" they offered. Once I was past the ugly of it all, I took a deep breath and told myself, "you must not judge others as you have been judge.... trust... trust..."
It was like a mantra I had to retell my brain. I don't trust easily so to be burned in the manner this woman did, I shook me.

BUT then a true friend called at just the right time and I knew, God had spoken directly to me pain. I was loved & I was appreciated even in my dimished capacity at the time.

I love a good bra.. I really do. Some days I can't wear them but that's okay because God is my constant support and my girls don't mind a little freedom once in a while. :)

Hugs
Tammy