Healing is like the ocean; it has depths and layers. Some issues lie on the surface, while others run deep, requiring more time and effort to work through. There are moments of calm, allowing us to find joy amidst the pain, and times of turbulence when we are overcome with emotion.
I think back to what I’ve been put through at the hands of people who claimed to love me, and it makes me shutter. Some thoughts almost seem surreal, as if I’m recalling a nightmare and not my real life. But those times did happen, and they left behind emotional scars that have forever changed me.
Life is filled with ups and downs and a whole lot of uncertainty. But what I do know, is that I will never put myself in those situations again. That notion alone is proof that I have made progress in my healing journey. I know that I’ve put up with a lot of shit I didn’t deserve in the past. I overlooked red flags and told myself that no one is perfect. I could deal with those “shortfalls” because the good outweighed the bad…until it didn’t. They say God makes us uncomfortable because otherwise we wouldn’t have moved. That was certainly true for me. It’s in those difficult and uncomfortable times where we grow the most. We find strength we never knew we had, especially if we lean on Him in the process. We discover the beauty in our brokenness as God helps us put ourselves back together.
There is purpose to our pain and very difficult but necessary lessons for us to learn. I’ve learned my lessons the hard way, but I wouldn’t change a thing. They made me who I am today. And that is a strong, resilient woman who has fought many battles and will win the war. I have learned to love myself and know my worth. I deserve the world and I will no longer settle for anything less. I am a work in progress and a beautiful masterpiece all at once. And so are you.
