Responsibility - Week Seventeen

"It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars" ~ Richard Evans

Week Seventeen (October 16-22)

It has been a week of peaks and valleys, wonderful celebrations with family and friends and untold heartache with loved ones, and regardless of which side of the spectrum I outfit a bulky cloak of responsibility. An overwhelming gratitude captivates me with the abundance of friendship, friendships I rely on to celebrate life's joys and carry me through the darkness. This privilege of their grace delivers a wave of accountability as it emphasizes the blessings in life and the gratitude I shoulder.

The obligation of survival, a sharp contrast I unveil in the pursuit of meaning, while immersed in the desolation that is grief. This irruption of emotions callously guides the course of uncertainty where I stumble through this journey awakening to the unknown, seeking forgiveness for the unkind and wisdom from its counsel.

Drenched in gratitude life showers me with abundance yet the stigma of guilt seeps in to remind me of the other side where grief and sadness crash unexpectedly into our lives. Weighty with affluence as gratitude and grief take their place  I crave value in the wisdom left in their wake while attempting to balance on this emotional pathway.

Allowing grace to soften me without the promise of guilt is a battle of wills resurfacing as I release the veiled stigma to the uncertainty. Surrendering my grip on sadness provides the opportunity for tenderness to wash over me, blanketing me with protection from the shadows of the past with a vision of promise in the future.

If I have learned anything over time it is that gratitude and joy are the choices we make each day, choosing to find the good in others, even through pain, by seeking to recognize the positive in the world and stepping away from the negative.

From the list...

Week Seventeen - Something you take for granted

• My husband and family who support all my dreams
• Change... accepting that it's inevitable, whether it is people, friendships, seasons, change is constant and I take for granted the good that comes from it.
• the seasons, just when I embrace one, we are moving to the next

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