I had the privilege of sharing at a women’s event this weekend and I am always amazed at the variety of ladies that attend. Old, young, married, single, happy, sad and all in between. All of us are from different towns, backgrounds, and families. Some ladies work and some stay home with their kids. There could not have been a more diverse group of ladies than the one I was a part of on Saturday.

But I noticed something; as the speaker talked about guilt that we hold onto from our past, everyone nodded in agreement. As she spoke about regrets, many eyes filled with tears. Unforgiveness and bitterness were mentioned and I could see it across so many faces; we are all the same.

We all can relate to these topics. Our lives are filled with bad decisions, guilt, shame, and regrets from the past. We have all encountered bitterness and unforgiveness. We all have broken places, hurts and heartaches. We are all the same.

Afterwards, I got to talk with a few ladies and as we chatted, there was a bond; we were united by our fears and trials and we laughed and hugged like long lost family and friends. What seemed like such a diverse group upon entering suddenly felt like the most familiar place I have ever been. Our journeys may have been different, our hurts may have happened at different times, but our hearts were united in sameness.

Look around. All of us, from different walks of life, dealing with the same struggles, walking down the same road. Instead of passing by another stranger, take a moment and look into their eyes. We are not strangers, we are brothers and sisters, all on this journey of life, trying to make it another a day; trying to make our lives count. Encourage someone this week. Offer a flicker of hope that they are not alone. Sometimes we just need that little reminder to help us keep on keeping on.

And don’t forget: we are all the same.