At this time next week, I will be on the longest flight of my life so far. Preparation for this trip has been stretching, and the study and reading and learning and connecting I have done in the course of it have brought me to a new place of acceptance… of myself, of my journey, and my call.

It’s not been without challenges, though… and sometimes the stretching just plain hurts. 

I’ve come to believe that many people are struggling with pain that they have no hope of escaping, often stuck in the silence of shame that is put on them in order to keep the peace. 

And so, there is none. 

Because peace cannot be kept if it is not first made. 

And the making of peace is a consuming process that few undertake for fear of isolation that they have not yet realized has taken over anyway. 

I am learning that I must change my story. I’m the only one who can. While the past is already written, I must speak up instead of defaulting to silence for the future to be different. I must lean into the discomfort that I have historically run from. I must stand for those who have been hurt… and that has to start with myself. 

Sometimes, that seems to be the hardest task… to stand up for me against my own internal critic as I learn that love begins inside. Loving me is the only way that I can love others to any extent or degree. I love you AS I love myself. All of which is only truly accomplished once I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

In standing up for myself and learning to love myself enough to speak up, I have found (and am still finding) a community that surrounds me and supports me in ways I never dreamed possible. God has shown up in ways that I didn’t even think to ask him to. 

Now the peace that is made can spread… but only as I then do the work to keep it.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.

Thanks for praying me through. 

I love you, friends.

💜💜💜