Smile Again

I’ve given everything in this moment to ensure that I don’t lose my smile again. I’m not my best self when what hurts inside turns my smile into a frown. I’m better than that, and I never like to forget that it was God who put the smile there in the first place. The strength of my own weakness pales in comparison to the strength God has given me. The rebuilding of me has cost me a life of not having what I thought I needed to survive. The healing of my heart is making its mark on the lives of other people. I’ve learned through my journey that you can bring me close to the fire, and I’ll show you a refined woman that knows nothing of old ways and thought patterns. I’ll be better than before. I’ll defeat what once made me feel defeated. We measure everything by time, but never by the moment that we surrender our lives to the God of time. Oftentimes, we feel that our lives end when seasons do. But we give very little thought, or none at all to the beautiful things that will begin. True strength not only lies in getting to the other side of your pain, but in everything in between. Your endurance in going through it all matters just as much as getting to the end of it all. You will come out stronger. You will come out wiser. You will lose a part of yourself that you didn’t need for the new season. Overcoming what was meant to take you out, and showing up alive reveals that you had what it took to withstand the process. And, although your losses may have knocked the wind out of you, it eventually comes rushing back in ways that God takes your breath away. I can tell you that the end of me brought an end to everything not for me. I smile knowing no person on this earth can give me what God has given me. And if they didn’t give it, they will never be able to take it away. No matter how many tears you may cry now, just know you’ll smile again.

All my love.