Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Sometime ago, I prayed that God would make me available and open to supporting the needs of others in my life.

Since that time, I've become intimately aware of the hurt that exists in relationships around me.

Some friends are trying to decide whether they should stay in less than satisfying jobs, some are trying to repair wounds with family members and some are paralyzed by the future of their marriages.

One of the most frustrating responses to hear when you're waiting on an answer is, "I can't really tell you what to do...just trust your heart and know that you'll do what's right for you."  So, instead of offering up that in conversation, I'm trying simply to listen, to not judge, to be available to where my friend is in the moment and to love them.

Relationships are such tricky, finicky creatures.  We all find ourselves connected to each other for a myriad of reasons...sometimes by choice and many times involuntarily. So, how do we cope when it's not going so well or worse, it's going terribly wrong?

Do we stay because we've established a history and an investment in the relationship?  Do we leave because ultimately the price to pay is too toxic for ourselves and those around us?  Or do we make no decision and continue to live in the status quo hoping that it gets better?

It's sometimes impossible to know for the person making the decision.  We're all trying to project every hypothetical scenario and make the best choice with the information and experience we have.

At the end of the day, whatever the choice...my hope is that my friends know that they are not alone.  There is always enough love and that whichever path they stumble upon, there will be light at the end.