AUGUST 22, 2026
YOU DON’T HAVE TO PERFORM TO KEEP YOUR PLACE ❤️🔥
Who Are You When You Cannot Earn Love by Being Useful?
Beloveds,
I have another uncomfortable question for us this morning.
👀❤️🔥
Have you ever wondered whetherpeople would still love you if you stopped being useful to them?
Not forever.
Just long enough that you couldn’t do what you’ve always done.
You couldn’t fix it.
Couldn’t pay for it.
Couldn’t organize it.
Couldn’t drive everybody.
Couldn’t cook.
Couldn’t clean.
Couldn’t work.
Couldn’t solve the problem.
Couldn’t be everybody’s emergency contact.
Couldn’t be the strong one.
Couldn’t be the person who always says:
“Don’t worry. I got it.”
What happens inside us when suddenly…
we don’t got it?
😭❤️🔥
For some of us, that question goes DEEP.
Because somewhere along the way, being helpful became more than something we did.
It became part of how we understood our value.
People needed us.
And being needed felt good.
People called us.
People depended on us.
People knew we would show up.
We were the fixer.
The encourager.
The caregiver.
The provider.
The responsible one.
The strong one.
The prayer warrior.
The funny one.
The one who held everybody together when everything started falling apart.
And without realizing it, we may have developed a quiet equation:
What I do for people = why I matter to people.
👀
That’s dangerous math.
Because eventually life may ask a question we weren’t prepared to answer:
Who are you when you cannot do what you used to do?
💔❤️🔥
❤️🔥 WHEN USEFULNESS BECOMES IDENTITY
There is absolutely nothing wrong with helping.
Serving is beautiful.
Giving is beautiful.
Caring for people is beautiful.
Working hard is beautiful.
Showing up is beautiful.
Jesus Himself taught us to serve.
But there is a difference between:
“Serving is something I do because I love.”
and:
“Serving is how I make myself worthy of love.”
WHEW.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Those can look exactly the same from the outside.
Both people may cook the meal.
Both may give the ride.
Both may solve the problem.
Both may stay late.
Both may say yes.
But inside?
One person is giving freely.
The other may be quietly asking:
“If I stop doing this, will you still choose me?”
😭
That’s not merely generosity anymore.
That’s an audition.
And beloveds…
you should not have to audition every morning for your place in the hearts of people who genuinely love you.
💔 SOMETIMES WE PERFORM WITHOUT REALIZING IT
Maybe your performance isn’t achievement.
Maybe it’s being agreeable.
You never complain.
Never ask for much.
Never inconvenience anybody.
Never say what you really need.
Because somewhere inside:
Easy people are easier to love.
Maybe your performance is strength.
Nobody gets to see you crumble.
Because:
Strong people don’t scare people away.
Maybe your performance is giving.
You make sure everybody owes you less than you owe them.
Because:
If I’m always contributing, nobody can call me a burden.
Maybe your performance is humor.
Everybody gets the joke.
Nobody gets the tears.
😆💔
Maybe it’s caretaking.
You know everybody else’s needs before they speak them.
But when someone asks:
“What do YOU need?”
your whole brain suddenly goes:
Error 404. Request not found.
😭😆❤️🔥
We laugh.
But some of us know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
❤️🔥 THEN LIFE CHANGES THE ASSIGNMENT
And this is where things can become painful.
Sometimes life takes away the very thing we used to prove our worth.
The worker can’t work.
The caregiver needs care.
The strong one becomes exhausted.
The healthy one becomes sick.
The person everybody leaned on suddenly needs something to lean against.
The financially secure person struggles.
The confident person loses confidence.
The encourager becomes discouraged.
The person who always had the answers finally whispers:
“I don’t know what to do.”
And if our identity was built entirely around usefulness…
this can feel like more than losing ability.
It can feel like losing value.
😭💔❤️🔥
That is where shame sneaks back in.
What good am I now?
What do I bring to anybody?
Everybody has to do things for me.
I’m not contributing enough.
I’m taking more than I’m giving.
They’ll eventually get tired of this.
And there it is again:
Performance.
Except now we’re terrified because we cannot perform at our previous level.
Beloved…
listen carefully.
❤️🔥 YOUR CAPACITY CHANGED. YOUR HUMAN VALUE DID NOT.
Those are different things.
Your capacity can fluctuate.
Your productivity can change.
Your income can change.
Your health can change.
Your mobility can change.
Your energy can change.
Your role in a family can change.
Your ability to care for others can change.
Your ability to work can change.
Your ability to contribute in familiar ways can change.
None of those measurements can adequately measure a human soul.
❤️🔥
Maybe you cannot give what you once gave.
That does not mean you give nothing.
Your presence matters.
Your story matters.
Your laughter matters.
Your wisdom matters.
Your listening matters.
Your honesty matters.
Your experience matters.
Your prayers matter.
Your affection matters.
Your encouragement matters.
Your existence matters to people who love you.
And sometimes?
You don’t have to produce ANYTHING in a particular moment.
You are allowed to simply be.
😭❤️🔥
That word can be terrifying for performers.
BE.
Not accomplish.
Not fix.
Not prove.
Not earn.
Not rescue.
Not impress.
Not compensate.
Just…
be.
❤️🔥 LOVE SHOULD HAVE ROOM FOR YOUR HUMANITY
Healthy love does not mean people never have expectations of us.
Relationships require responsibility.
Promises matter.
Commitments matter.
Effort matters.
Reciprocity matters.
This isn’t permission to neglect everybody and announce:
“Well, Cassandra said I don’t have to perform!”
ABSOLUTELY NOT. 😭😆
Don’t put that foolishness on me.
I’m talking about something entirely different.
I’m talking about the belief that:
If I cannot constantly produce value, I cease to HAVE value.
No.
Responsibility says:
“I should contribute according to my ability and commitments.”
Performance-based worth says:
“If my ability decreases, my worth decreases with it.”
That’s the lie we’re confronting.
❤️🔥
💔 LET PEOPLE LOVE THE PERSON, NOT JUST THE FUNCTION
This may be one of the hardest parts.
If you have spent years being the helper, people may genuinely love helping YOU.
Read that again.
Someone may feel honored to finally give something back.
Someone may have watched you pour and pour and pour.
And now they get to say:
“Sit down. I’ve got this.”
And your entire nervous system may respond:
ABSOLUTELY NOT. GIVE ME THAT DISH TOWEL.
😭😆❤️🔥
Because sitting feels wrong.
Receiving feels wrong.
Not contributing feels wrong.
But perhaps the person helping you isn’t thinking:
Look how useless they are.
Maybe they’re thinking:
“Finally. Let me love you for a minute.”
👀😭❤️🔥
And if you constantly snatch the opportunity away because you need to prove you’re still useful…
you may accidentally prevent somebody from expressing their love in the way THEY chose.
Sometimes receiving is generosity too.
Because receiving says:
“I trust your love enough to let you give it.”
❤️🔥 YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY RENT FOR YOUR PLACE IN SOMEONE’S HEART
Oh, somebody needs that sentence today.
You do not have to pay emotional rent every month to remain worthy of healthy love.
😭❤️🔥
You don’t have to constantly ask:
Have I done enough?
Have I given enough?
Have I been useful enough?
Have I been easy enough?
Have I been strong enough?
Have I caused too much trouble?
Healthy love isn’t a landlord standing at the door on the first of every month:
“Where’s this month’s usefulness?”
😭😆❤️🔥
No.
Relationships need nurturing.
But love isn’t supposed to require constant proof that you deserve to exist inside it.
🙏🏾 JESUS AND THE LOVE THAT COMES FIRST
And this is where grace confronts our entire performance system.
Scripture says:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8, KJV
Notice when the love came.
Not after everything was fixed.
Not after everybody performed beautifully.
Not after humanity finally became impressive enough.
While we were yet sinners.
Love moved first.
❤️🔥
And another Scripture says:
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19, KJV
Again…
Look at the order.
He first loved us.
Then love flows from us.
Not:
Perform → earn love → maintain performance → hopefully remain loved.
But:
Loved → receive → become transformed → love flows outward.
😭❤️🔥
That order changes everything.
Because service becomes a RESPONSE to love instead of an APPLICATION for love.
WHEW.
Read THAT again.
Service should be a response to love—not an application for love.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
I don’t love so somebody will finally decide I’m valuable.
I love because love has already taught me something about my value and theirs.
I don’t serve God to convince Him to keep me.
I serve because I belong to Him.
I don’t care for people so they will never leave.
I care because loving people is part of who I want to become.
Now giving can breathe.
Now receiving can breathe.
Now love doesn’t have to carry the weight of proving that I deserve to exist.
❤️🔥 THE CASSANDRA CHALLENGE
Ask yourself:
“What do I believe I must continually DO so people will keep loving me?”
Be specific.
Be honest.
Maybe:
I have to be useful.
I have to be strong.
I have to say yes.
I have to fix everything.
I have to keep everybody happy.
I have to hide my needs.
I have to make people laugh.
I have to never become inconvenient.
Then ask:
“Who would I be if I stopped auditioning?”
👀❤️🔥
Sit with that.
❤️ DAILY LOVE CHALLENGE
Today, allow yourself one moment where you don’t earn your place.
Sit with someone.
Receive a phone call.
Accept a compliment.
Let somebody help.
Laugh.
Rest.
Exist.
And when the voice says:
“You should be doing something…”
answer:
“Being human is something.”
❤️🔥
🙌 DAILY VICTORY
Today I will remember:
My usefulness may change.
My capacity may change.
My circumstances may change.
My roles may change.
But I refuse to measure my entire worth by what I can produce for other people.
🙏🏾 MORNING PRAYER
Father,
Some of us have spent years trying to earn what we desperately wanted to receive freely.
Love.
Belonging.
Safety.
Acceptance.
A place.
We became useful.
Strong.
Dependable.
Easy.
Quiet.
Funny.
Productive.
Necessary.
And somewhere along the way, some of us forgot how to simply be Your children.
Teach us.
Help us serve from love instead of serving for love.
Help us give without auditioning.
Help us receive without shame.
Help us rest without believing we’ve become worthless.
Help us recognize the difference between healthy responsibility and desperate performance.
And when our capacity changes, remind us:
Our identity is bigger than our output.
For everyone waking up today wondering:
“What good am I now?”
meet them there.
Remind them that a changed life is still a life.
A changed body is still worthy of dignity.
A changed role does not mean no role.
A person who needs care still has love to give.
And a person who has nothing to give today…
is still a person worth loving today.
Amen.
😭❤️🔥
Beloveds,
Maybe you’ve spent your whole life making yourself indispensable because somewhere deep inside you believed:
If they need me enough, they won’t leave me.
But being needed and being loved are not always the same thing.
And perhaps this season is inviting us into something deeper.
Not:
“Keep me because I’m useful.”
But:
“Know me. Love me. Let me know and love you too.”
No audition.
No performance review.
No monthly emotional rent.
Just people learning how to love each other honestly.
Sometimes giving.
Sometimes receiving.
Sometimes carrying.
Sometimes being carried.
And sometimes simply sitting beside one another saying:
“I’m glad you’re here.”
😭❤️🔥
Maybe that sentence is enough for today.
You don’t have to perform to keep your place.
And tomorrow…
we bring this whole week home.
Because after guilt…
after shame…
after fear of being a burden…
after strings…
after vulnerability…
after performance…
there remains one final terrifying invitation:
OPEN YOUR HANDS.
Grace cannot be earned.
It can only be received.
👀🙏🏾❤️🔥
Unapologetically His.
Unapologetically yours.
Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on being…YOU! ❤️🔥🌎
Category: Song
I’M NOT DISABLED. I’M ABLE, BELOVEDS. AND, SO ARE YOU! 👩🦽❤️🔥
I’M NOT DISABLED. I’M ABLE, BELOVEDS. AND SO ARE YOU! 👩🦽❤️🔥
Beloveds,
I have been thinking about the words we use to describe ourselves.
And today, I need to tell you what I see when I look at me.
I’M ABLE.
That does not mean pretending there are things I cannot currently do.
There are.
It does not mean denying that life changed.
It did.
It does not mean I don’t need assistance sometimes, accommodations sometimes, different tools sometimes, more time sometimes, or another person beside me sometimes.
I do.
But somewhere along the way, we started confusing needing a different way with having no way at all.
👀 Read that again.
Different is not less.
Assistance is not absence of ability.
Adaptation is not defeat.
And needing help does not erase what I CAN do.
I use a wheelchair. But, mostly, my trusty quad cane. I do. NOT feel bad about needing them
Still, I’m able. 👩🦽
I have had to relearn things I once did without thinking.
And, I’m able.
Sometimes my body requires creativity where it once required instinct.
Still able.
Sometimes somebody has to help me.
STILL. ABLE.
Because ability doesn’t disappear simply because it changes clothes.
Maybe I cannot do something the way I did before.
Okay.
Then the question becomes:
How CAN I do it now? 🔑
That question has changed something in me.
Instead of standing at the graveyard of everything that changed, I am learning to walk—roll, crawl, adapt, laugh, pray, improvise, whatever it takes—toward everything that remains possible.
And there is SO MUCH POSSIBLE. 🌳🍇
Beloveds, maybe somebody has spent too much time telling you what you cannot do.
Maybe life changed your body.
Maybe age changed your pace.
Maybe illness changed your routine.
Maybe grief changed your capacity.
Maybe circumstances changed the route you thought you would travel.
Maybe you need accommodations.
Maybe you need somebody’s hand.
Maybe your victory looks completely different from somebody else’s.
SO WHAT?!!
We are done measuring human worth by independence.
We are done treating help like humiliation.
We are done believing there is only one respectable way to move through this world.
And we are definitely done allowing the things that became difficult to introduce themselves as the definition of who we are.
No.
👓 Look again.
I am not a list of things that became harder.
I am a whole human being discovering new ways to live.
I am learning.
I am adapting.
I am creating.
I am loving.
I am writing.
I am laughing.
I am reaching.
I am recovering.
I am becoming.
I am planting. 🌳
I am eating the grapes. 🍇🤣
I am finding keys to doors I once thought were permanently locked. 🔑
And sometimes I’m rolling through those doors instead of walking through them.
BABY, THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN. 👩🦽💃❤️🔥
And yours may be too.
So don’t let anybody—including the frightened voice inside your own head—reduce your entire existence to what you cannot do today.
Ask another question:
WHAT CAN I DO?
Then ask:
WHAT CAN I LEARN?
Then:
WHAT CAN I ADAPT?
And finally:
WHO MIGHT I BECOME IF I STOPPED MEASURING MY FUTURE BY YESTERDAY’S METHODS?
Whew. ❤️🔥
Beloveds, ability comes in more forms than we were taught to recognize.
Sometimes strength stands.
Sometimes strength sits.
Sometimes strength runs.
Sometimes strength rolls.
Sometimes strength speaks loudly.
Sometimes strength struggles to get the sentence out—and finishes it anyway.
Sometimes strength does everything alone.
And sometimes the bravest, strongest words in the room are:
“I need some help.”
All of it counts.
So today I’m changing the emphasis.
Don’t look at me and only see what changed.
👀 LOOK AT WHAT REMAINED.
Better yet—
LOOK AT WHAT IS GROWING. 🌳🌳🌳
I’m able, beloveds.
AND SO ARE YOU. ❤️🔥
Now let’s find out what our able looks like.
One step.
One adaptation.
One grape.
One key.
One gloriously unconventional way forward at a time. 🔑🍇🌳👩🦽💃
Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: What are you waiting for!!💃👩🦽👀
One step.
One step.
One step.
You are loved.
You are NOT alone.
Keep on being…YOU!
Unapologetically His. ❤️🔥
Unapologetically yours.
Help me be loud:
STOP APOLOGIZING FOR NEEDING LOVE ❤️🔥😭
AUGUST 18, 2026
STOP APOLOGIZING FOR NEEDING LOVE ❤️🔥😭
Receiving Love When Guilt and Shame Tell Us We’re a Burden
Beloveds,
Some of us know how to give love.
We know how to show up.
We know how to pray for everybody else. Encourage everybody else. Check on everybody else. Carry everybody else.
But then life happens.
Illness happens.
Grief happens.
Disability happens.
Divorce happens.
Depression happens.
Financial trouble happens.
Job loss happens.
Age happens.
Exhaustion happens.
Plain old I cannot do this by myself today happens.
And suddenly, we’re standing on the other side of love.
We’re not giving.
We’re receiving.
And nobody warned us how vulnerable that could feel. 😭❤️🔥
Because sometimes somebody loves us beautifully—and instead of immediately feeling loved, we feel guilty.
They rearrange their schedule.
I’m sorry.
They come running.
I’m sorry.
They help us clean something up.
I’m so sorry.
They sit with us while we cry.
I’m sorry you have to deal with me.
They sacrifice something because we need them.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
Beloveds…
When did “thank you for loving me” become “I’m sorry you had to”?
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
There is guilt that belongs to accountability.
If we have harmed someone, we should acknowledge it. Apologize. Make amends where possible. Learn. Grow. Change.
But there is another guilt that has nothing to do with wrongdoing.
It comes simply because we needed somebody.
And sometimes shame joins it.
Guilt says:
“I shouldn’t need this much help.”
Shame takes it further:
“Something must be wrong with ME because I need this much help.”
Guilt says:
I’m causing trouble.
Shame says:
I AM trouble.
Oh, beloved.
Those are two very different statements.
😭❤️🔥
Maybe somebody reading this has been ashamed of needing help getting dressed.
Maybe you needed money.
Maybe somebody had to drive you somewhere.
Maybe you couldn’t take care of your children the way you normally would.
Maybe grief flattened you and somebody had to feed you.
Maybe your body changed.
Maybe your mind became exhausted.
Maybe you couldn’t work.
Maybe you needed somebody to sit beside you because being alone felt like too much.
Maybe you needed help with something so private that accepting assistance made you want to disappear.
Maybe you’ve whispered:
“I hate that somebody has to do this for me.”
I understand that feeling.
But I am learning something.
❤️🔥
Needing love does not make us unlovable.
And needing help does not automatically make us helpless.
Read that again.
HELP and HELPLESS are not synonyms.
Sometimes capable people need help.
Strong people need help.
Caregivers need care.
Encouragers need encouragement.
People who have spent years carrying everybody else occasionally become the person who needs carrying.
That doesn’t erase who they are.
It simply means:
Today, it’s my turn to be held.
😭❤️🔥
And maybe that’s why receiving can be so difficult.
Giving lets us remain in control.
When I’m giving, I decide what I give, when I give it, and how much.
Receiving requires something different.
Receiving requires trust.
I have to believe you when you say:
I came because I wanted to.
I’m helping because I love you.
You’re worth my time.
You’re worth rearranging things for.
You don’t have to earn this.
And sometimes our first instinct is to argue.
But I’m a burden.
But you’re tired.
But you shouldn’t have to.
But I should be able to do this myself.
Beloveds, what if we stopped correcting people’s math when they decide we’re worth the trouble?
😭❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
What if instead of:
“I’m sorry you had to come,”
we practiced:
“Thank you for coming.”
Instead of:
“I’m sorry I’m taking so much of your time,”
try:
“Thank you for giving me your time.”
Instead of:
“I’m sorry you have to help me,”
try:
“Thank you for helping me.”
Instead of:
“I’m sorry you have to walk through this with me,”
try:
“Thank you for walking through this with me.”
Do you see it?
The need didn’t disappear.
The sacrifice wasn’t minimized.
Nobody became entitled.
But shame left the sentence.
❤️🔥
Gratitude says:
“I see what your love costs, and I appreciate what you freely chose to give.”
That is different from guilt saying:
“Because your love cost you something, I must be a problem.”
NO.
Love has always cost something.
Time costs something.
Presence costs something.
Patience costs something.
Friendship costs something.
Family costs something.
Commitment costs something.
And yes—sometimes loving one another will inconvenience us.
That’s part of being human together.
Today I may need you.
Tomorrow you may need me.
And perhaps neither of us needs to keep a ledger.
❤️🔥
Scripture says:
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
— Galatians 6:2, KJV
Notice that Scripture doesn’t tell us only to become excellent burden-carriers.
If somebody is going to bear another’s burden, somebody somewhere has to be willing to let theirs be carried.
👀❤️🔥
We talk a lot about the holiness of helping.
Maybe we need to talk about the humility of being helped.
We celebrate the giver.
Maybe God is teaching some of us how to become gracious receivers too.
Because even our relationship with Him begins there.
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19, KJV
He first loved us.
Before our response.
Before our repayment plan.
Before our performance.
Love came first.
Grace came first.
❤️🔥
So perhaps today we practice something that sounds tiny but may be enormous:
When love comes toward you…
don’t immediately apologize.
Notice the guilt.
Notice the shame.
Notice that instinct telling you to become smaller.
And then, if you can, open your hands.
Let somebody love you.
Say:
“Thank you.”
You don’t have to turn every kindness into a debt.
You don’t have to earn every hug.
You don’t have to repay every hour somebody spends beside you.
You don’t have to apologize for every season in which you cannot be the strong one.
And you certainly don’t have to apologize for being human.
❤️🔥😭
Somebody may need this tomorrow morning:
You are allowed to receive love at your weakest without believing weakness has become your identity.
You are allowed to receive help without calling yourself helpless.
You are allowed to be carried without deciding you have become a burden.
You are allowed to cry when somebody shows up.
You are allowed to discover that people love you more deeply than you realized.
And you are allowed to simply say:
Thank you for coming for me.
No apology attached.
No invoice.
No emotional bookkeeping.
Just gratitude.
Just grace.
Just love.
And perhaps this morning, instead of asking,
“How quickly can I stop needing everybody?”
we ask a different question:
“Can I become healthy enough to give love when I can, ask for love when I need it, and receive love when it comes?”
That’s not weakness.
That’s relationship.
That’s community.
That’s how we carry one another home.
❤️🔥
❤️🔥 THE CASSANDRA CHALLENGE
Today, catch one unnecessary apology.
Just one.
When you hear yourself apologizing simply because you needed something, pause.
Replace:
“I’m sorry…”
with:
“Thank you…”
Then notice what happens inside you.
It might feel uncomfortable.
That’s okay.
We’re learning.
Together.
🙏🏾 A MORNING PRAYER
Father,
Some of us are wonderful at giving love and terrified of receiving it.
Teach us.
Where guilt is appropriate, give us courage to make things right.
But where guilt is lying to us—where shame is telling us that our needs make us worthless, difficult, or unlovable—help us recognize the lie.
Teach us to receive the people You send.
Teach us gratitude without shame.
Dependence on You without embarrassment.
Community without keeping score.
And when somebody chooses to carry us for a while, help us resist the urge to apologize for every step.
Help us simply whisper:
Thank You, Lord.
And to those loving us:
Thank you for coming.
Amen. ❤️🔥
Daily Victory:
Today, I will not confuse needing help with being helpless.
Daily Love Challenge:
Let somebody do one kind thing for you today without immediately trying to repay them.
Receive it.
Say thank you.
And let love finish what it came to do.
Unapologetically His.
Unapologetically yours.
Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on being…YOU! ❤️🔥
Help me be loud:
MESSAGE — YOU DIDN’T MISS YOUR MORNING ☀️❤️🔥
AUGUST 17, 2026
MESSAGE — YOU DIDN’T MISS YOUR MORNING ☀️❤️🔥
Beloveds,
Good morning.
Or good whenever-you-finally-got-here. 😆❤️
Some of us are already up ready for the day.
Some of us woke up already tired.
Somebody had appointments.
Somebody had phone calls.
Somebody is waiting for an answer.
Somebody is taking care of children, parents, partners—or themselves.
Somebody’s plans went sideways before breakfast.
And somebody looked at the clock and thought:
Well. There goes my morning.
Nope.
Come here. ❤️
You did not miss your life because your morning didn’t go according to plan.
You are here now.
Begin here.
☀️ MORNING ASPIRATION
Today, I will stop requiring myself to have a perfect beginning.
I will begin where I am.
If I am tired, I will begin tired.
If I am hopeful, I will begin hopeful.
If I am hurting, I will begin hurting.
If I’m behind schedule, I will begin from here.
If yesterday is still sitting heavily on my heart, I will carry it gently instead of pretending it disappeared overnight.
I do not have to become somebody else before I participate in my own life.
Today already belongs to me.
And I intend to live some of it. ❤️🔥
📖 TODAY’S WORD
“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24, KJV
Notice what it doesn’t say.
This is the day the Lord hath made provided everything goes according to Cassandra’s color-coded itinerary.
😆
Nope.
This day.
The interrupted one.
The doctor’s-office one.
The therapy one.
The work one.
The caregiving one.
The grieving one.
The starting-over one.
The ordinary one.
The Lord, what in the world are we doing? one.
This one.
🙏
🧠 YOUR VOICE, YOUR STORY
Take one slow breath.
Then say aloud:
“I am here.”
Again:
“I am here.”
And one more:
“I don’t have to rush through today to prove that I’m living it.”
Your voice doesn’t have to sound like anybody else’s.
Your story doesn’t have to move at anybody else’s speed.
Use what you have today.
❤️ DAILY LOVE CHALLENGE
Today, when somebody does something kind for you, practice receiving it.
Instead of immediately apologizing, minimizing, or trying to repay them, try two words:
Thank you.
Let kindness land.
And if you’re the person helping somebody today, don’t make them feel ashamed for needing you.
Let your help communicate:
“You are safe to need something around me.”
That’s love too.
❤️🔥 TODAY’S VICTORY CHALLENGE
Stop once today and notice something you DID.
Not what remains unfinished.
Not what you used to be able to do.
Not what everybody else accomplished.
What did YOU do today?
Maybe you got out of bed.
Made the call.
Went to the appointment.
Took the medicine.
Asked the question.
Went to work.
Fed yourself.
Apologized.
Set a boundary.
Tried again.
Rested when you needed rest.
Survived a difficult hour.
Whatever it is:
Count it.
Small victories are still victories.
🙏 FOR THOSE WHO PRAY
Father,
Thank You for another morning—even when we arrived late to it.
Some of us are strong today.
Some are tired.
Some are frightened.
Some are grieving.
Some are waiting for answers.
Some are beginning again.
Meet every one of us where we actually are.
Teach us not to abandon ourselves when life becomes difficult.
Teach us to receive love without shame.
Teach us to offer love without making others earn it.
Give us courage for today’s work—not next month’s work, not next year’s work.
Today’s.
Give us our daily bread.
Our daily strength.
Our daily mercy.
And when we cannot see very far ahead, remind us that we don’t have to see the entire road to take the next faithful step.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen. 🙏❤️🔥
🌎 AND IF PRAYER ISN’T YOUR THING
You still belong here.
Take what serves you:
You don’t need to solve your entire life today.
You don’t have to pretend you’re okay.
You don’t have to perform positivity.
You don’t have to compete with yesterday’s version of yourself.
Just ask:
What do I need today?
Then give yourself permission to answer honestly.
☀️ TODAY’S REMINDER
Beloveds, maybe the goal isn’t:
“Today I will have everything together.”
Maybe it’s simply:
“Today I will stay with myself.”
Through the interruption.
Through the appointment.
Through the work.
Through the disappointment.
Through the laughter.
Through the mess.
Through the progress.
Through the ordinary.
And tonight, instead of asking only,
“How much did I accomplish?”
ask:
“Did I show up for the person living my life?”
Because you are not merely waiting for your life to improve.
You are living it now.
Begin. Again.
❤️🔥
TODAY’S CASSANDRA CHALLENGE — EXTRA CREDIT 😎
Find one person today and make their load a little lighter.
A call.
A text.
A prayer.
A compliment.
Patience.
Help.
Listening.
Or simply:
“I’m glad you’re here.”
Because somebody around you may desperately need evidence that they matter.
Be some.
Unapologetically His / Unapologetically yours,
Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: Life has been kicking my tail. I have much in the ways of encouragement and fun for you. Be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself. I love you, beloveds, and so does He.
One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on being…YOU! ❤️🔥🌎🙏
Help me be loud:
WHAT DO I DO WITH ME NOW? 💔😭✍️
Beloveds,
I am writing through tears tonight.
Ah, God…
What do I DO with ME now?
Someone I love is not in love with me very much right now.
And there is no judgment here.
None.
Because I understand.
After my stroke, I was sooooo very…
I don’t even know what word belongs there.
Angry?
Terrified?
Confused?
Exhausted?
Grieving?
Probably all of it. 🧠💔
During those first days, I was angry. I slapped stuff around. I brought confusion and hurt into a house filled with people who loved me.
People who were trying to help me.
People who didn’t understand what was happening to me any more than I did.
And eventually, I got some act right. 😩😆
But getting some act right doesn’t erase what happened before I got it.
And now some of the blowback has arrived.
Ouch.
💔
I understand it.
I’d probably be angry too.
And understanding somebody else’s pain does NOT mean mine doesn’t hurt.
It hurts.
Fam, I’m sorry.
Jesus, I’m sorry.
God, I am so sorry.
I was so tired.
So terrible sometimes.
And underneath so much of it…
I was terrified.
😭
I was terrified because my life had changed.
My body had changed.
My brain had changed.
Things that used to belong to me without thought suddenly required effort.
And people were trying to love me while I was trying to understand who the heck ME even was anymore.
And here is one of the hardest things I have had to admit:
I did not allow love to love me.
💔❤️
Love came toward me, and sometimes fear answered the door.
Love tried to help me, and sometimes anger answered.
Love reached for me, and sometimes grief slapped its hand away.
That doesn’t make what I did okay.
But if I’m going to tell the truth about my behavior, I am going to tell the truth about my broken heart too.
Accountability does not require self-hatred.
I can say:
I hurt you.
I was wrong.
I understand why you’re angry.
I am sorry.
I wish I had handled things differently.
I am working on me.
And then I can resist adding:
Therefore, I am horrible and unworthy of love.
Nah, fam.
That’s not accountability.
That’s punishment.
And punishment cannot change yesterday anyway.
So what do I do with me now?
😭✍️🙏
I love her.
I teach her.
I correct her.
I forgive her.
I let her cry.
I make her apologize when she needs to apologize.
I make her listen when somebody else needs to tell their truth.
I remind her that being wounded does not give her permission to wound people.
And then…
I refuse to throw her away.
Because she’s me.
And I still have to live with her tomorrow.
Maybe somebody reading this needs that tonight.
Maybe you’ve made a mess too.
Maybe fear made you somebody you barely recognized.
Maybe grief came out sideways.
Maybe somebody you love is still angry about something you’ve already cried a thousand tears over.
Don’t demand that they hurry up and forgive you.
Give them room.
Love them enough to let their hurt be real.
But, beloved…
give yourself room to become different too.
Repentance means I don’t have to remain who I was in my worst moment.
God can work with a mess.
Good thing too, because whew…
💩😭😩❤️🔥
He and I have had some MATERIAL to work with.
And tonight?
I’m heartbroken.
I’m tired.
I can’t sleep.
I had been trying to prepare posts so I could schedule some daily love and disappear for a little while.
I wanted to leave encouragement behind while I preparedfor Outpatient Therapy next week.
But tonight my heartbreak got louder than my plans.
And for one little moment I wondered:
Who cares about all this anyway?
I do.
There.
That’s my answer.
I do.
I care about the person somewhere crying because somebody they love is angry with them.
I care about the stroke survivor who doesn’t recognize themselves anymore.
I care about the caregiver who got hurt while trying to help.
I care about the family trying to love somebody through something none of them were prepared for.
I care about the person ashamed of how fear changed their behavior.
I care about the one wondering whether they’ve messed things up beyond repair.
And I care about me too.
So I shall keep writing through these tears.
✍️😭❤️🔥
And in two days, I begin Outpatient Therapy.
YAAASSS.
I may cry all the way until Tuesday. 😭😩🏃♀️
Fine.
I’ll show up with swollen eyes.
I’ll show up tired.
I’ll show up heartbroken.
I’ll show up scared.
But I WILL SHOW UP.
Because healing doesn’t require me to stop hurting before I begin.
Maybe that’s tonight’s lesson.
You can be sorry and still deserve tomorrow.
You can have hurt people and become safer.
You can understand somebody’s anger and grieve the distance between you.
You can lose somebody’s trust for a season without losing your responsibility to become trustworthy.
You can cry while you heal.
And you can begin while your heart is still broken.
💔➡️❤️🔥
“A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” — Psalm 51:17 KJV
So, God…
Here is mine.
Broken.
Sorry.
Tired.
Terrified.
Still loving.
Still learning.
Still Yours.
And still here.
🙏😭❤️🔥
Cassandra Challenge:
Before you condemn yourself for the worst season of your life, ask yourself:
What was happening inside me? What do I need to own? Who deserves an apology? And what can I do differently now?
Don’t use your pain as an excuse.
But don’t use your mistakes as a weapon against yourself either.
Tell the truth.
Make amends where you can.
Learn.
Love.
And begin.
Again.
Victory tonight: I am crying, but I am still writing.
And apparently…
these tears have ink in them. ✍️😭❤️🔥
Be encouraged, beloveds.
I’m trying to be too.
Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on being…YOU!
Unapologetically His.
Unapologetically yours. ❤️🔥
Help me be loud:
Last one. I think…
August 14, 2026
💔🌊 JESUS, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH TEARS IN THE OCEAN
What Do We Do With Our Hearts Now?
Beloveds,
Jesus… 😭💔
There are not enough tears in the ocean for some kinds of heartbreak.
There aren’t enough words.
There aren’t enough prayers that come out neatly.
There aren’t enough “I’m okay”s to make us okay.
Sometimes all we have is:
Ah, God… what do we do with our hearts now? 😭💔🙏🏽
And maybe today somebody reading this is asking another question:
WHO CARES?
Who cares that I am hurting?
Who cares that something I loved has changed?
Who cares that I’m trying to hold myself together while something inside me feels absolutely shattered?
Who cares about the tears I don’t let anybody see?
Who cares when I don’t even have the strength to explain why I’m crying?
For me, the answer is:
YOU DO, JESUS. ❤️
You care.
Not only when I am praising. 💃🏽🙌🏽
Not only when I’m strong. 💪🏽
Not only when I’m encouraging everybody else.
Not only when Cassandra has something funny to say. 😅😂
You care about this Cassandra too.
The one with tears running down her face. 😭
The one whose heart hurts. 💔
The one who doesn’t have a clever lesson wrapped up with a pretty bow today.
The one who can only whisper:
Jesus, please hold what I cannot carry. 🙏🏽😭❤️
And THAT is something I want somebody else to know today.
💔 STOP TRYING TO MAKE GRIEF PRETTY.
Some pain is ugly.
Some grief is confusing.
Sometimes faith sounds like HALLELUJAH! 🙌🏽
And sometimes faith sounds like:
“Jesus…help.”
That’s it.
One word.
Help.
😭🙏🏽
You don’t have to manufacture strength you don’t have.
You don’t have to rush yourself into gratitude because somebody is uncomfortable with your sadness.
You don’t have to turn every tear into a testimony before you’ve even finished crying it.
Sometimes love simply sits beside a broken heart and says:
“I’m staying.” ❤️🫂
And if you’re loving somebody who is hurting today, please don’t make their pain compete with your desire to fix it.
Don’t immediately tell them what lesson they should learn.
Don’t hurry them.
Don’t compare their grief to somebody else’s.
Don’t tell them to “look on the bright side.”
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is sit there and say:
“I care. I’m here. You don’t have to explain.” 🫂❤️
THAT is love in action. 🎬💞
🙏🏽 FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE
Jesus Himself wept.
“Jesus wept.” — John 11:35 KJV
Two words.
And I love those two words today.
Because they remind me that tears do not frighten God.
And Scripture says:
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart…” — Psalm 34:18 KJV
So today I’m not asking God to pretend my heart isn’t broken.
I’m asking Him to come near it.
Sit with me here, Jesus. 😭🙏🏽
Hold every piece.
Hold the memories.
Hold the questions.
Hold what I understand.
Hold what I absolutely DO NOT understand. 😭💔
And when I don’t know what to do with my heart…
You do. ❤️
💞 AND IF JESUS ISN’T YOUR ANSWER
You are still welcome here.
Your tears matter too.
Your grief doesn’t need my theology before it deserves my compassion.
If today all you can believe is that another human being should care when somebody hurts, start there.
Sit beside somebody.
Listen.
Call.
Text.
Check in.
Be gentle.
And if you’re the one hurting, give yourself permission to say:
“This hurts.”
No apology.
No shame.
No performance.
Just truth. ❤️🩹
🌊 TODAY’S LOVE CHALLENGE
Find one hurting heart today.
Maybe it’s somebody else’s.
Maybe it’s yours.
Don’t fix it.
LOVE IT.
Give it room.
Give it patience.
Give it tenderness.
Give it permission to cry. 😭🫂💞
🏆 TODAY’S VICTORY
If you cried and kept breathing…
Victory.
If you admitted, “I’m hurting”…
Victory.
If you reached for God…
Victory.
If you reached for another person…
Victory.
If you couldn’t do anything except make it through the last five minutes…
VICTORY. 🏆😭❤️
Because sometimes courage doesn’t roar.
Sometimes courage sits in a puddle of tears and whispers:
“I’m still here.”
And today…
I’m still here. 💔❤️🩹🙏🏽
So are you.
Maybe neither one of us knows exactly what to do with our hearts right now.
But we don’t have to figure out the rest of our lives today.
Today we can cry.
Today we can love.
Today we can let ourselves be loved.
And tomorrow?
We’ll take another step.
One step. One step. One step. 👣❤️
Come back. We’re going to keep talking about the HOW of love—how to love when we’re grieving, how to sit with somebody else’s pain without trying to control it, and how to keep a tender heart when life gives us every reason to build a wall around it. 💞🧱➡️❤️
Because love isn’t only what we feel when everything is beautiful.
Sometimes love is what stays when everything hurts.
And Scripture reminds me:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” — 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV ❤️
Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on being…YOU! 💞😭🙏🏽🥰
Help me be loud:
August 14, 2026❤️ EVERY DAY IS HARD…AND SOMEBODY NEEDS YOUR LOVE TODAY ❤️Beloveds,I need to love on some folk today. ❤️🥺🫂Because EVERY DAY IS HARD.Maybe not every day is equally hard.Maybe everybody isn’t carrying the same thing.Maybe what feels unbearable to me wouldn’t feel unbearable to you.But somewhere today, somebody woke up already tired. 😔Somebody smiled while their heart was breaking. 💔Somebody said, “I’m fine,” because explaining what not fine feels like takes more energy than they have.Somebody is grieving a person.Somebody is grieving a relationship.Somebody is grieving their health.Somebody is grieving the person they used to be.Somebody is trying to recognize themselves in a life they never expected to be living. 🥺💔Somebody is angry.Somebody is scared.Somebody is lonely.Somebody messed up yesterday and is wondering if they deserve another chance today.Somebody believes in God and is asking Him, “Lord, how much longer?” 🙏🏽😭Somebody doesn’t believe in God at all and is still whispering into the darkness, “Please…something has to get better.”And somebody doesn’t have words for ANY of it.So today, I don’t want to give you some cute little speech about smiling through everything.Nah. 👀❤️Sometimes life HURTS.I know something about waking up and realizing the battle didn’t disappear while I slept.I know something about having to find courage when I don’t particularly FEEL courageous.I know something about heartbreak. 💔😢And I am learning that courage isn’t always standing on top of a mountain yelling, “I WON!” 🏆Sometimes courage is lying there thinking:This is hard.I am hurting.I don’t know how today is going to go.But I’m still here.And sometimes STILL HERE is the victory. ❤️🩹💪🏽❤️ SO HOW DO WE LOVE SOMEBODY THROUGH A HARD DAY?We stop assuming we know what people are carrying.We listen before trying to fix.We give people room to be human.We apologize when we’re wrong.We forgive when we can.We check on the strong friend. 👀We don’t make somebody prove their pain before we offer compassion.We don’t compare suffering.And sometimes we simply say:“I see you.”“You don’t have to perform for me.”“You don’t have to make me comfortable with your pain.”“You matter today—even hurting.” 🫂❤️And here’s another one I’m learning:❤️ LOVE YOURSELF THAT WAY TOO.Whew. 😭👀Because some of us will give everybody else grace and then turn around and talk to ourselves like we owe ourselves money. 🤣😩NOPE.If today is hard, acknowledge that today is hard.That isn’t quitting.That isn’t weakness.That isn’t failure.That’s telling yourself the truth.Then ask:What is the next loving thing I can do?Not the next 50 things. 😵💫ONE.Drink some water.Rest.Call somebody.Cry.Pray.Sit quietly.Laugh at something ridiculous. 🤣Tell somebody you love them.Forgive yourself for not having everything figured out before lunchtime. 👀🤣❤️One loving choice can change the direction of a hard moment.🙏🏽 FOR MY FOLK WHO BELIEVEGod never promised me that every day would feel good.But He did promise I wouldn’t have to walk through it alone.“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” — Psalm 34:18 KJVAnd this one is sitting close to my heart today:“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7 KJVSo, Father, today I give You the stuff I cannot carry gracefully.The tears.The fear.The frustration.The heartbreak. 💔The questions.The exhaustion.The things I don’t understand.And the things I don’t even know how to say.Please love on Your people today.Find the person crying behind a closed door.Find the person smiling while falling apart.Find the caregiver who is tired.Find the person who feels misunderstood.Find the lonely one.Find the frightened one.Find ME.And remind us that hard days do not mean love has abandoned us.Amen. 🙏🏽❤️❤️ AND IF FAITH ISN’T YOUR THING…You are still welcome here.No sermon required.No pretending required.No explanation required.I hope somebody handles your heart gently today.I hope you handle your own heart gently too.I hope one small moment reminds you that pain is not the only thing that exists.There is still kindness.There is still laughter.There are still people capable of showing up.There is still tomorrow.And YOU ARE STILL HERE. ❤️🩹💞 TODAY’S LOVE CHALLENGEFind ONE PERSON and love on them intentionally.Text them.Call them.Sit beside them.Tell them something good you see in them.Ask, “How are you REALLY doing?”Then be quiet long enough to hear the answer. 🫂And don’t forget yourself.Look at yourself—even if today you feel like a hot mess wrapped in exhaustion with a side order of WHAT IN THE WORLD?! 😵💫🤣👀And say:“Today is hard. But I will not make it harder by being cruel to myself.”THAT is love too. ❤️🏆 TODAY’S VICTORYIf you got up hurting and you’re still trying…Victory. 🏆If you cried and kept going…Victory. 🏆If all you could manage today was admitting, “I’m not okay”…Victory. 🏆If you showed somebody love while your own heart needed some…Baby, that counts too. ❤️🩹Every day is hard in somebody’s world.So let’s stop making people earn tenderness.Let’s stop waiting for perfect circumstances to love one another.LOVE SOMEBODY TODAY.And please…include yourself. ❤️❤️❤️We’re going to keep talking about the HOW of love—how to listen, how to apologize, how to forgive, how to show compassion, how to love when we’re hurting, and how to keep growing when we’d rather run away. 👀😩🤣❤️Come walk with me.We’re learning together.We’re loving together.And on the days when somebody doesn’t have enough strength to carry hope…Maybe the rest of us can help hold it for a minute. 🫂❤️🩹🙏🏽Asking for A Friend,Cassandra#YourLifeMattersToMeNote: One step. One step. One step. ❤️You are loved.You are NOT alone.Keep on being…YOU! ❤️🥰🫂💯
Help me be loud:
Hiding Inside Myself
Beloveds, this for the men out there. Ladies, let’s love our fellow men and transgender/gay men. I love and so does He!💞👋
Cassandra
Shame on ALL wh won’t love his/her/their neighbors. Jesus is sad today. Our men count and WORTHY to be seen, to be loved.I got you brothers…
Help me be loud:
Have been listening to this 🎵 on repeat. Beautiful. 💔💔🤕
No pretending. I would pay legit money for a hug from someone who loves me. Having a ministry of loving a world that 🌎 won’t love me back hurts. Especially today.
Cassandra
Help me be loud:
August 14, 2026 💔😭 GOD, WHAT DO I DO WITH MY BROKEN HEART?
For Me—and Everybody Else Who Is Crying
Today 🫂💞 Beloveds, today I need comfort.
Not a lecture. Not somebody telling me how strong I am.
Not somebody rushing me toward the bright side.
Comfort. 🫂💔
Because today… I am devastated. 😭😭😭
And before somebody mistakes my tears for surrender, let me make something very clear:
I AM NOT DISCOURAGED.
I have not quit. I have not stopped believing. I have not decided my life has no purpose.
I have not stopped trusting God.
My heart just hurts. Badly. 💔😢
And maybe somebody reading this needs permission to understand the difference.
You can have hope… and hurt.
You can trust God… and cry.
You can know you’re going to keep going… and wish with everything inside you that you didn’t have to go through this.
You can be grateful for your life… and grieve what has changed in it.
You can say, “God is good.” and then put your face in your hands and sob. 😭🙏🏽 Those things can live in the same heart.
I know because today… they are living in mine. 💔❤️🩹 — 😭
GOD…I MISS ME.
There. I said it. Sometimes grief isn’t only about losing somebody else. Sometimes you grieve yourself. The person you remember. The things you used to do without thinking about them.
The ordinary pieces of life you never imagined you would one day miss.
And some days the difference between then and now hits harder than others.
Today is one of those days for me. 💔🧠😭
My symptoms are really bad today. And sometimes when things are especially difficult, grief comes knocking again.
Not necessarily because I’ve lost hope. Sometimes because I remember. I remember ME.
And there are pieces of that woman I miss so terribly that I don’t have prettier words for it.
I just… miss her. 😭😭😭
And God, if I’m going to walk this road, I need You to help me understand something:
What do I do with all this LOVE I have for the life I remember? What do I do with the memories? What do I do with the frustration? What do I do when my heart screams: “I WANT IT BACK!”
💔😭🙏🏽 — 🫂
MAYBE I DON’T HAVE TO “DO” ANYTHING WITH IT TODAY.
Maybe that is part of the lesson. Maybe every painful emotion doesn’t immediately require an assignment.
Maybe sometimes grief needs permission to simply be grief.
Today I hurt. Period. No explanation required. No apology required. No inspirational ending required.
I can sit before God and say: “Father, Your daughter is hurting today.” 🙏🏽😭 That’s enough.
And if you don’t believe as I do, perhaps your words are simply:
“Today hurts.” That’s enough too. You don’t owe anybody a performance of strength. 🫂💞 —
🙏🏽 GOD, PLEASE SIT WITH ME HERE. I don’t need You only in my victories. I need You here. In this.
In the tears. In the questions. In the memories. In the frustration. In the moments when I am tired of having to be courageous.
In the moments when I don’t want another lesson. In the moments when I don’t want my pain turned into purpose yet.
Sometimes, God… I just want my heart held. 💔🙏🏽🫂
Your Word says: “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart…” — Psalm 34:18 KJV
Then please… come near.
Not tomorrow when I’m feeling inspirational again. Not after I’ve dried my tears. Not after I’ve figured out what I’m supposed to learn. NOW.
Come sit with the crying woman. 😭🙏🏽 — 💔
AND TO SOMEBODY CRYING WITH ME TODAY… Come sit over here. 🫂
You don’t have to explain everything. You don’t even have to talk. I won’t tell you to cheer up. I won’t tell you everything happens for a reason.
I won’t tell you somebody else has it worse. I won’t tell you that you should be grateful because at least you still have ______.
No. Your heartbreak gets to be your heartbreak. 😭💔
Maybe somebody died. Maybe somebody left. Maybe your health changed. Maybe your family changed. Maybe a dream died.
Maybe you received news that knocked the wind out of you.
Maybe you’re grieving a version of yourself you desperately want back. Maybe you don’t even know WHY you’re crying.
You’re just tired. Come anyway. 🫂💞 There is room beside me. — 😭
CRY. Yes. CRY. I mean the ugly one too. The runny-nose, swollen-eyes, can’t-get-the-sentence-out kind. 😭😭😭😩🫠 Cry if you need to.
Because tears aren’t always saying: “I give up.” Sometimes tears are saying: “This mattered.” “I loved deeply.” “I wanted something different.” “I’m disappointed.” “I’m exhausted.” “I miss what was.” “I need somebody to hold me.”
And sometimes… tears don’t say anything at all. They just fall. Let them. 💧💧💧 — ❤️🩹
THEN LOVE THE PERSON WHO IS CRYING.
That person is YOU. This is where the HOW of love matters. We talk so much about loving everybody else.
But what does love look like when the person falling apart is staring back at us in the mirror? Maybe love says:
“You don’t have to accomplish anything impressive today.” Maybe love says: “Rest.” Maybe love says: “Eat something.”
Maybe love says: “Call somebody safe.”
Maybe love says: “Turn the music on.” 🎶
Maybe love says: “Pray.” 🙏🏽
Maybe love says: “Laugh if something ridiculous happens—even while you’re crying.” 😂😭
And maybe love simply whispers: “I am staying with you through this.” ❤️🩹 — 🙏🏽
MY PRAYER FROM A BROKEN HEART:
God, I don’t have a polished prayer today. My heart hurts. You already know why. You know every thought I haven’t found words for. You know what I miss.
You know what I’m afraid to lose. You know what I wish were different. You know the parts of this journey I would NEVER have chosen. 😭🙏🏽
So I’m bringing You exactly what I have. A broken heart. Take it. Hold it.
Please don’t let pain make me bitter. Don’t let grief steal my capacity to love. Don’t let what I have lost make me unable to see what remains.
And when I cannot understand what You are doing… help me trust Your heart. 💔🙏🏽❤️🩹
And Father… if this truly is being asked of me… then You already know what I’m going to say. 😭💪🏽 I CAN.
Not because it is easy. I WILL.
Not because I wanted this. I MUST.
Because there is still purpose inside this beating heart. 🙏🏽❤️🩹
But God… please hold me while I do it. Amen. —
💞 FOR THOSE WHO PRAY DIFFERENTLY—or DON’T PRAY AT ALL…
May you give yourself permission today to be human. May you stop measuring your strength by how rarely you cry.
May you recognize that grief and hope can occupy the same body. May you treat yourself gently while your heart is hurting.
And may somebody remind you: You do not have to solve your whole life today.
Just stay with today. 🫂💞 — 🌱
TODAY’S LOVE CHALLENGE :
Find somebody—including yourself—who needs comfort. And resist the urge to FIX them. Sit. Listen. Hold a hand.
Send a message. Let them cry. Say: “You don’t have to be okay with me.” That’s love too. 💞🫂 — 🏆 TODAY’S VICTORY
Maybe today’s victory isn’t getting back up immediately. Maybe today’s victory is finally admitting: “This broke my heart.” 💔
And discovering that after saying it… your heart is still beating. ❤️🩹 Mine is. It hurts like crazy today. But it’s beating.
And apparently it still has enough life left in it to love somebody else who is crying.
So if you’re crying today… you can borrow some of mine. 💞 I’ll sit with you. You sit with me. We don’t have to pretend. We don’t have to hurry.
And when we’re ready… not when somebody else decides we should be ready… we’ll take another step. 👣 Then another. 👣 And another. 👣 Crying if necessary. Laughing when we can. 😂😭💞
Praying when we have words. 🙏🏽 Sitting quietly when we don’t. 🫂 And believing that a broken heart can still hold an astonishing amount of love.
💔❤️🩹💞 Asking for A Friend,
Cassandra #YourLifeMattersToMe
Note: One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on being…YOU! 💔❤️🩹🙏🏽🫂💞
And God? I’m still here. I’m crying. I’m hurting. I’m heartbroken. But I’m still here. If this is being asked of me… I CAN. I WILL. I MUST. Just… hold my hand while I do it. 😭🙏🏽🤝🏽❤️🩹
Why Can't I Be Loud?! 