Watching and waiting and wondering

It's hard sometimes.

Sitting on the sidelines.

Watching.

Waiting.

Wondering...

when to step in,

when to say something,

when to back off,

when to proceed.

Yes. It's hard sometimes.

Sitting on the sidelines as you bear witness to...

A friend suffering a health crisis.

A child struggling in school.

A family member coping with a personal challenge.

We don't always know 

what to do

or 

what to say.

We only know that we want to fix it for them.

We want to make it go away.

Disappear.

Evaporate into thin air.

Never to return.

We want to wave that magic wand and make everything good again.

And it seems,

as we sit there on the sidelines,

watching and waiting and wondering

that it would be far easier to bear the hardship ourselves than to see them suffer and struggle.

And yet...

we know...

we know...

we know...

from our own hard won experience of struggle and strife...

that it is through struggle that

we often find our strength...

our grit...

and a part of ourselves that perhaps we didn't realize exists.

And so...

as we sit and wait and wonder on the sidelines...

we take a breath

or two

or ten

and we let the mind clear and settle

knowing that in that space

we will know what to do or say.

And sometimes...

sitting and waiting

holding that space for another

trusting that they will find a way...

their way...through the struggle...

sometimes...that is everything.

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