Here’s some of the letter I just sent to the one who shared her story with me. Details of the story have been removed.
Hi ____,
...I am so sorry for all of the uncertainty you’re having to deal with right now. I can imagine it’s heavy on your heart. And to experience this over and over again, has to feel incredibly tiresome. I just hope you know that even here, you are worthy of the journey. You are worthy of walking this path, even though you do not know what friendships or relationships will change or last. It’s so hard to live with this unknown, and it’s hard to love in this space, not knowing how it will all fall into place. But you are free to take this day by day. You are also free to mindfully consider how you may be able to distance yourself from _________. I know that’s not easy, being in that one place, but I just hope you know that even here, you are not in stagnant waters. You are still on a journey. You are still moving forward. I know it may feel at times that ______ will have a lasting impact, but in the end, they do not tell your whole story. And perhaps the best way to move on is to trust that every day you choose to trust that you are so much more than _________, is a day you are moving forward, even everyone else doesn’t believe it—you are free to believe there is more to you.
She is slowly
learning to accept
the way
things are changing.
She is learning to trust
it is okay if her plans
are starting to change
including her plans for where she thought
her safe places would be.
Even in the waiting,
she is learning
to hope for better things
and to believe in what is possible
high above
what others say or think.
For even here,
she is still on a journey.
The pain of their words
may find her from time to time
but they will not write the chapters
of her story
down the line.
Slowly but surely
she is finding that every single day
is a chance to start over
in some small way,
and even if her surroundings don’t change
she is still wrapped in grace
to breathe deep
and take the journey
day by day.
- MHN
