Hello all you Sun-Kissed Souls

Hope you are all well!

Today I am sharing why I think having a support system is so important. I hope you can find some value in this post as I have seen so much value in my support system.

What does a support system mean to you? Recently while navigating through life as I do, I realized how important it is to have a support system.

I am currently in a season of change navigating life abroad, and uncertainty should be second nature to me by now. Change and uncertainty are two things one can never be prepared for no matter how much we try and I am learning day by day to worry less because I know I am looked after by God always. I recently have relied heavily on my support system and didn’t think I would get by without them. I keep getting reminded that we are not meant to do life alone. We are intended to connect this is how we were designed by our maker to live in a community, not in isolation.

“Research has proved that having a support system has many positive benefits, such as higher levels of well-being, better coping skills, and longer and healthier life. Studies have also shown that social support can reduce depression and anxiety. … The goal of social support is to decrease stress.”

Living abroad can be hard at times you can quickly feel isolated being far away from home. I am here to tell you that many people think and feel the same way as you and everyone needs a friend.

When it comes to my support system I am very blessed to have a supportive family, my mom, is my biggest cheerleader and I also have a great group of friends but they scattered all across the globe, so connecting can be hard thanks to the internet life has gotten easier. However, it is good to have support from afar and near.

We may not get to choose what we go through in life, but we do get to choose whom we go through life with. You have the choice, remember that.

My inspiration came from watching this sermon if you have time I would recommend giving it a listen. I took some significant pockets of wisdom and shared it with you in my eight reasons. (Thank you, Holly)

So here are my 8 Reasons why having a support system is so important.

1. You need to be around people where you can be vulnerable, honest and feel like you in a safe space to share. This will help you trust people. (Remember a real trusting relationship takes time.)

2. You don’t have to struggle alone sometimes just having someone that can listen to you can help you reduce so much stress and take you away from the battlefield of your mind.( Asking for help does not mean you a broken person.)

3. Having someone or a group of close friends that you can love unconditionally and be there for, no matter what. A support system is so important to teach you what real love is.

4. Improves your health, anxiety, and depression. Do I even need to explain this one? Sometimes something as simple as laughing with a great friend is all you need to make life less burdensome.

5. Spiritually, to have people to relate too, talk too and pray with. Someone to fill your life with wisdom. God sends us blessings and miracles in people.

6. Likeminded people, if you can surround yourself with like-minded people, it does help increase your level of life. Always feeling left out or not good enough or competing with your friends, is not the way to do life. It leaves you feeling more alone.

7. Many women have maybe been betrayed by past friends and therefore think they do not need friends or women can’t be trusted. I can’t promise you-you won’t get hurt but I can tell you-you can learn something from every relationship you make. If we build our support system right the reward is so much higher than the risk.

8. You need people to celebrate with and cry with. To do this, you need to let people in because shame like mold it grows in the dark. When you bring your life into the light with the right people, your relationships will become stronger and grow. You learn so much about others and yourself by just letting go of any fears, guilt, judgement, and shame.

To Conclude…

There you go that’s my eight reasons why I think having a strong support system of great people are so important so we can live, love and grow together.

So maybe you need to ask yourself some tough questions and re-evaluate your current support system. Relationships are hard to maintain it’s a two-way streak as much as you want a good friend you need to be a good friend too. I truly want you all to live the best versions of your life. I hope I can encourage you to get really connected. I have been learning through my life that those bad days, and tough situations will come, but we can make it through it all if we have the right support. We are better together.

Let me know if you have a support system and what you love about them?

If you struggle to get connected or just need some good advice to find friends that fit. Holly Furtick created this great study called Building Friends that Fit you can join the facebook group here it’s filled with lots of videos and a great community of women from all over the world. Check it out she also created this awesome book I am working through myself called Buidling Friends that Fit you can purchase it here for only 10$ you can get the digital download.