I have the very best.

It's so easy to feel sorry for yourself and wallow in self pity. It's like a self comforting technique. Especially when you don't feel well or like everything in your life is going wrong. It's so easy to just close up and shut everyone out. You can still wave and smile and seem perfectly normal, yet inside your mind is turmoil and a wreck of untrue, exaggerated and embellished thoughts and emotions that have no validity. And while you know that most of the things you are feeling are invalid, there is a sense of comfort in entertaining them and allowing your mind to wander down endless paths of thought that merely end up giving you more pain, fear and anxiety, despite the fact that the likelihood of said circumstances coming into fruition are highly unlikely.

Even from a young age we allow ourselves to close up and embrace self pity. When we are chastised or don't get what we want. So by the time we are grown-ups, we are very good at going to that secret dark place and allowing scary ideas to wash over us.

Yet, while the smallest thing can send us spiralling into darkness, a seemingly small, and what some may perceive as being an insignificant act, can drag you unflinchingly back into the light. It can chase away the dark thoughts that you had sought to comfort you and remind you that you don't need lies and sadness, but love and friendship.

God sees all our thoughts. And he knows exactly what we need to hear and when the hand of compassion and kindness needs to be extended.Sometimes we need a harsh reminder to remove us from the realm of self-pity. But equally, we sometimes need a gentle push, a loving nudge, someone to take our hand and lead us out through the tangle of sore thoughts that we had no idea were so strongly wrapped around us. Once we are out, we realise just how close we may have been to drowning. And the relief is immense.

Today, I pulled out of my self pity. someone took me by the hand and led me out. Whether she saw I was in emotional pain or not, she led me out, and I am ever so grateful. I love her so much. She means the world to me, and I sometimes wonder where I would be without the special people that God has allowed into my life over the past year. They are truly unique and sweet, and I cannot imagine living without them.