THANK YOU!

If I could say one thing to you, my beloved friends of JL PARISH, it would be this, “Thank You.” Just two weeks ago we celebrated our very 1st Birthday, a birthday that wouldn’t be possible without each of you. This last year of business has been a year of many firsts from hard lessons to small successes. We plunge forward with great passion and even greater humility. We know that the opportunity to do what we’re doing is a gift. And, we want to do our best to be worthy of just that.

But, JL PARISH and our Sparrow Project would not be possible without each of you. I say “our” almost always because what we’re doing really belongs to everyone. With each day that passes, a new “sparrow story” takes flight. We all experience peaks and valleys. It’s something we share in our human experience. Not one of us is immune to hard times. Life ebbs and flows, and the Sparrow Project story encompasses just that. We find comfort in knowing that the God who created us is also watching over us closely.

While I’m a wildly independent person, I know, without question, that no man or woman is an island. We need each other in order to survive and thrive. One person has strengths where another has weaknesses and vice versa. We live in a day and age where doing it all and having it all seems so possible, but it isn’t possible without support from others. We need each other, plain and simple.

For more than forty years, my Mom has been blessed by her friendship with the most remarkable group of women. They meet every single week for dinner and a good game of bridge. They laugh and cut up and have one heck of a time. When you’re in their presence, you’re elevated by their love. You see, it’s not about food or a card game, it’s about community that’s built on love. Beyond their Wednesday night meeting, they’re in one another’s corner always. From throwing a shower for one of their daughter’s to taking food or a cheery face over to uplift a friend who’s suffered a loss, they support one another not just in words but in their actions. And, their spouses and children have reaped the benefit of their deep, true, faithful friendship. What started out as a card game turned into a community of women who support one another.

Personally and professionally, I want to be like the “bridge girls.” I want to be in community with others. I want to lift others up. I want to ease others pain and lighten their burden. I want to encourage others to be their very best. And, I want to show up and show out for my people because that’s what they’ve done for me.

No man or woman is an island. And, no business is an island either. We survive and thrive because of the support we get and give to others.

There’s a saying that goes something like this, “If the only prayer you ever said was THANK YOU, that would be enough.” In prayer, I lift every single one of you up in thanksgiving for the support you’ve so generously showed me. There are no words to express how you’ve blessed me.

Never discount your intention followed by action to support others. It’s such a powerful thing. And, we all have to power to give it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!

Stay Divine,

JL PARISH