This week, I listened and talked to someone who is struggling with their parents’ divorce, someone who just lost a parent, someone whose loved one is battling drug addiction, someone who just lost a loved one to suicide, someone who is facing crippling peer pressure, someone who is putting on a smile and showing up when it’s really freaking hard, and there’s more but you get the general idea. Many of these someones were my students between the ages of eight and eleven.

My heart is heavy. I share this to say, we all have a story, so remember to choose kindness with everyone you meet. You just never know what someone is trudging through. There is so much brokenness and hurt and imperfection in this world. Goodness, none of us are immune. Not my sweet students, not the person who checks all the boxes and gets all the gold stars. Sometimes bad things happen and it just stinks. Yes, there is always hope and yes, we can get through hard things, and yes, we can eventually find meaning in the mess, but sometimes the best thing, the only thing, you can do is just say to the broken-hearted—

•I see you.

•I care about you.

•I hurt with you.

•I love you.

If you’re hurting tonight or helping the hurting tonight, just know that those same four statements are all true from me to you. Love you, dear friends. Good night.