Laura Harle - Hero story

Laura is the kind of person you want as a friend. Always looking to the bright side of life and always checking in to see if you’re okay. She shared a situation where she did just that with a work colleague...

“A friend of mine at work looked really upset so I went up to her and simply asked, ‘Are you OK?’ She looked up at me and her eyes looked a little bit red like she'd been crying, so I just decided to give her a hug – which was actually quite bold of me, especially being in a work setting. The hug led to her sharing about something that she was going through, which then led to a helpful conversation about Jesus.

She opened up to me about a miscarriage that she had recently gone through, and I was actually able to sympathize with her because I've been through something similar myself. She then asked me an interesting question, ‘How does the heartache go away?’ I was able to be really honest with her and said that the pain didn’t necessarily go away, but that my relationship with Jesus has been one way I've found that has really helped me.

Undergoing self-reflection to understand your own experiences (even if you don’t share them directly) is a great way to build empathy for others. Taking the next step and being vulnerable by sharing is a great way to spark conversations that lead to talking about Jesus. Simply sharing your story is powerful because you never know what that simple act of vulnerability can do in someone's life.

I feel like we sometimes overcomplicate things. Being bold and giving something so simple – like a hug, a word of encouragement, asking ‘Are you OK?’ – that can really change someone's life.”