Latest / WholeHeart Conversations / Encouraging One Another Through Transparent Conversations
Transcript
- 0:00Constance Lavonice: Just one transparent conversation can change the trajectory of someone's life.
- 0:08Constance Lavonice: What prevents us from having those conversations and how do we initiate them?
- 0:15Constance Lavonice: You're listening to Whole Heart Conversations, a podcast especially for women to boost your mental and emotional health and build resilience as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
- 0:32Constance Lavonice: I'm your host, Constance Lavonice.
- 0:37Constance Lavonice: September is National Suicide Awareness Month, and I recently attended a suicide prevention conference.
- 0:49Constance Lavonice: One of the speakers grabbed my attention when she said that talking about what the person is contemplating is one of the most important mitigating factors that save lives.
- 1:07Constance Lavonice: So, in recognition of Suicide Awareness Month and prevention and reducing the stigma around mental health, I want to talk about the importance of having a heart-to-heart conversation without an agenda, a conversation that expresses I see you, I love you, I care for you and I support you.
- 1:43Constance Lavonice: For you and I support you.
- 1:54Constance Lavonice: A conversation that changes circumstances.
- 1:55Constance Lavonice: I believe we're all good at small talk.
- 1:56Constance Lavonice: Hey girl, how are you doing?
- 1:58Constance Lavonice: Oh, I'm doing okay.
- 2:00Constance Lavonice: How about you?
- 2:01Constance Lavonice: Oh, I'm doing fine.
- 2:03Constance Lavonice: Well, you look good.
- 2:04Constance Lavonice: Oh, you look good too.
- 2:06Constance Lavonice: Well, it was nice seeing you.
- 2:09Constance Lavonice: Yeah, the same, I'll talk to you later.
- 2:13Constance Lavonice: Okay, bye-bye.
- 2:18Constance Lavonice: Small talk, but are we good at having conversations that matter?
- 2:24Constance Lavonice: But are we good at having conversations that matter, a conversation that addresses the elephant in the room.
- 2:32Constance Lavonice: Life is good, but life is not all joy and laughter.
- 2:37Constance Lavonice: We're going to have challenges in life Pain, loss, grief, difficulties that's all a part of life.
- 2:58Constance Lavonice: The Bible allows us to reflect on some of the things that we can expect in life.
- 3:04Constance Lavonice: About James, chapter 1, verse 2, states when you encounter various trials.
- 3:14Constance Lavonice: The Bible is trying to tell us that we're going to face various trials.
- 3:20Constance Lavonice: It's not a matter of if but when, and the Bible allows us to see the human condition through the people in the Bible, as we see in 1 Kings, chapter 19, verse 4, chapter 19, verse 4, when Elijah the prophet, was discouraged and he said enough, now, lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father's.
- 3:57Constance Lavonice: And David stating in Psalm 42, verse 6, and Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, is described as being greatly distressed in 1 Samuel, chapter 1, verse 10,.
- 4:30Constance Lavonice: Knowing that we're going to face challenges in life and it's biblical and no one is exempt it's a part of our human experience.
- 4:40Constance Lavonice: What prevents us from having transparent conversations with others, especially our family, friends or our circle of contact?
- 4:53Constance Lavonice: I have four observations.
- 4:57Constance Lavonice: The first is we don't want to assume.
- 5:02Constance Lavonice: We don't want to make an assumption about a situation even though we're observing it.
- 5:11Constance Lavonice: The second is we don't want to jump to conclusions, getting ahead of ourselves.
- 5:21Constance Lavonice: Third, we may be wrong, we might embarrass ourselves.
- 5:28Constance Lavonice: And the fourth reason is we don't want to say anything to stir up the situation.
- 5:38Constance Lavonice: Say anything to stir up the situation because we think the person may feel worse or act on the situation if we were to mention it.
- 5:49Constance Lavonice: But underlying all of this is the fear of truly being transparent and going there with that person, which leads us to how do we initiate these conversations?
- 6:07Constance Lavonice: In Matthew, chapter 22, verses 35 through 39, an expert in religious law asked Jesus, teacher, which is the greatest commandment in your law?
- 6:24Constance Lavonice: Jesus responded Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
- 6:35Constance Lavonice: And the second is like it Love your neighbor as yourself.
- 6:41Constance Lavonice: Think about that.
- 6:44Constance Lavonice: Love someone the way you want to be loved.
- 6:50Constance Lavonice: Philippians, chapter 2, verse 3, tells us to do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but, with humility, consider one another as more important than yourselves.
- 7:09Constance Lavonice: So, as we put these biblical principles in place, we're able to think about the needs of others as we do for ourselves.
- 7:20Constance Lavonice: So what does that look like?
- 7:23Constance Lavonice: Letting go of our own fears, getting out of our own head and focusing on someone else in the spirit of care and concern.
- 7:38Constance Lavonice: In the spirit of care and concern, having no other agenda or judgment but to meet that person where they are.
- 7:47Constance Lavonice: And for me, it's taking a moment from my busy schedule and calling a friend who's been dealing with a lot of stress from a life circumstance and asking her how she's doing and affirming her feelings wherever she is at that moment, meeting her at her point of need and in doing so, demonstrating the Apostle Paul's exhortation to the Thessalonians.
- 8:33Constance Lavonice: Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up.
- 8:35Constance Lavonice: Chapter 5, verse 11.
- 8:39Constance Lavonice: And if you've heard anything helpful today, consider subscribing and sharing and text the show to let me know what's on your heart.