Hope

Yesterday I put up our Christmas decorations. There aren't many--just a lot of ornaments given to me by my parents over the past 20 years, plus a nativity set we got as a wedding gift. I don't need a lot of junk around, but I like that our apartment feels cozy and Christmasy now. Plus, I bought Amahl and the Night Visitors on iTunes and listened to it three times yesterday....so that helps too.

Here's how I am: I am loved. I am healing. I am learning that pain has the ability to stretch me and form quiet depths in my soul, which I can draw on when my strength is waning. Love is not easy, but I'm finding that it is much better to be wounded and broken but to be facing each other, struggling toward each other, than it would be to remain isolated from each other and numb to the pain, passively drifting apart.

I'm also learning that courage isn't always loud or bold...sometimes it means diving into your weakness and facing the worst parts of yourself. Being vulnerable and trusting that you will be accepted even in your brokenness...and that if you aren't, you have the ability within you to survive.

We will endure. We will heal. We will find greater joy in each other, and we will look back on this as the beginning of a new life.