just five more words

I have a really close friend that is struggling with depression at the moment, and I can tell how hard it has been for them. Living in this world today, perfectionism is constantly expressed as a necessity for everyone, and if you're not perfect, then are you really worth much? This is the mindset that a lot of people have come to have, including my friend. 

Sometimes I wish I could just grab them by the shoulders and shake them, saying, "YOU. ARE. WORTH. SO. MUCH. MORE. THAN. YOU. REALIZE." But that wouldn't exactly do much good now, would it?

Anyways, I recently found out about an experience my friend had. A few months ago, they were really upset one night. Something had caused them to snap inside and feel angry and utterly useless, and they were headed for their room to cut. However, something told my friend to text me "goodnight Eden." 

Now, when I got this text, I wasn't too caught off guard. This was a pretty routine thing, because my friend always needed someone to tell them goodnight. Usually, I ended up being that person. Anyways, as I was typing my response back, my fingers hovered over the electronic keyboard after I typed, 'goodnight." In my head, I got the prompting to add something unusual. Just five extra words: "thanks for talking to me." 

I didn't give it much of a second thought after sending it, but little did I know that my words had a bigger impact than I could have ever imagined. Those five words stopped my friend in their tracks, and hit them "so profoundly and in such a way" that they actually refrained from cutting themselves that night. Someone (me) was actually grateful that they had taken the time to talk to them. 

Finding that out today hit me hard. God knew what my friend needed to hear. I was only the deliverer, and thankfully I had listened to that small voice telling me to add just five. more. words. 

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I'm so thankful for that experience. Sometimes actions may seem so small and insignificant when we do them, but that's because we don't truly know everything that is going on in someone's life during every single moment. I really needed to learn that lesson.