Sometimes just a listening ear...

Recently my friend Carolyn told me about an incident that happened to her some years ago. She was a secretary in a school and going through a trying situation. She spilled and spelled out the problem to a friend, a high school teacher.

Now, looking back, she realizes that the teacher listened to her, but didn't put her arms around her in a "Oh you poor thing! They were all wrong....." type of answer.

Instead the teacher encouraged her to get her life together, get over this hurdle, and move forward.

Carolyn has never forgotten that lesson.

There are times when we need the encouraging arms around us, but there are also times when we need to realize we're just feeling sorry for ourselves and we need to "get over it." To move on.