On showing up

Photo by Gina Z

I’ve been quite inspired lately by a few friends who are simply showing up. Especially in the online space, which often feels cluttered and noisy and salesy and exhausting, and makes me often want to quit.

They show up simply as themselves, with beauty, with perspective that is unique, sharing a thought or an image or a corner of their simple, beautiful life.

And it makes me want to show up.

Beauty begets beauty.
Courage begets courage.
Showing up begets showing up.

Sam’s music and writing. (You’ll hear more about her music soon, but I’ve just been so inspired by her songs and album she’s working on)
Lindsey’s art, homeschool, and no-filter policy.
Emily’s blog. Always, Emily’s blog.
Ashleigh’s words. We connected years ago, and I’m excited to be part of her substack as she’s moved away from social media.
The Coffee and Crumbs ladies.

But of course, this isn’t just online. And the times that showing up have brought me to tears have been the real life, knock on my door showing up that has happened recently.

Grammy taking care of the kids while we are all sick.
Sam showing up with a crossword puzzle, journal, bone broth, and her “warrior not worrier” shirt.
Heather providing more baked ziti and chicken noodle soup than we could ever eat so I don’t have to cook for days.
Liz tripling her grocery order and dropping off an extra order for me and another for a friend who needed it.

When you’re sick often, when you have small kids, when your to do list seems so very long, when life feels out of control - it’s easy to want to shrink up and disappear for a little bit. And sometimes that’s actually needed and good. But this is just a reminder that showing up blesses other people, and God created us to not shrink away but actually mingle our lives with the lives of others - thoughts, beauty, beliefs and all.

Whether it’s big or small, I hope you keep showing up, too.