ignored

I have a friend that I miss quite a bit.  She and I were talking about the homes that we were raised in.  We have many similar stories about how we were raised.  We are also both raised in the same denomination, and our upbringings were less than stellar.

I could never quite put my finger on what it was about the home I was raised in, but she used a word about her experience, and I wanted to stand up and shout, "THAT'S IT!!"  What she said was this, "I wasn't abused as a child, I was ignored."

Ouch.  That's it.  That is what was missing from my childhood.  We were ignored.  It's like you grow up around these people and you never get to know them.  You aren't valued, you aren't celebrated, you're just some picture on the wall that everyone walks by but never notices.

Talk to the people in your life.  Invest in them.  Spend time with them.  Make sure that they know that they matter to you.  Tell them that you love them.  Being ignored is painful, and life is too short.  Love them and hug them.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.