Okay, so, that family photo is from December—the other one is from Tuesday, and the other one is a tiny, crappy drawing I did today… because I’ve always wanted to be able to draw (and technically I can, since I’m alive and have a pencil and some paper), so I decided to just challenge myself to draw a tiny drawing every single day… because it’s FUN.
But all the pictures match together in my head, because you don’t have to be physically dead to need to be brought back to life.
And I’m so grateful to have been brought back to life.
I am so grateful for the chance to heal.
I’m so grateful for this little family of mine. I absolutely adore them. They’re my favorite people. The world around them, everywhere they go, is better because they are in it, and I am so lucky to be a part of their lives. I’m so lucky I get to watch these boys grow and become such unique, kind, creative, wonderful humans.
No, life has not been kind. I have experienced completely overwhelming grief from multiple traumatic experiences. I have felt dead on my feet. There are years of my life I don’t even remember because of trauma.
But such grief and trauma doesn’t erase the possibility of an absolutely beautiful life.
Paintings need darkness to add depth, and bring out the bright colors. Through persistence, learning, compassion, and refusing to give up in our hours of darkness, our lives can become a work of art.
I have been reading this book by Tara Brach called ‘Radical Acceptance’. In it, there is this prayer: “May this suffering serve to awaken compassion.” She proposes that, the greater our pain, the greater our potential for compassion and love. I believe in a God that suffered and knows all of our sorrow, grief, and pain, which would make Him the most compassionate, loving Being possible. This is the Jesus I know. This is the God I celebrate on Easter—One who has had the compassion to see me, and to bring me back from the dead, and to help me grow a beautiful life from the ashes of what was lost. Where there once was nothing but darkness and emptiness inside my soul, there is now a light, and that which was broken beyond repair has begun to heal. ☀️
Where Rose Writes Very True Stories 