We Made It

We knew it wouldn’t be easy, didn’t we? Nothing ever is. But we knew the pain was a sharp edge, digging into us deep, and now, looking back doesn’t seem so bad. Because we did the healing, went straight into it with fists clinched, eyes wide open, and some of us were kicking and screaming. But we didn’t give up. So we stand here now, hearts whole, hands filled with peace, scars that tell a story of how we got here. We didn’t back down. We didn’t back down. Now it’s part of our story, but we don’t tell it about the time someone hurt us more than we could  ever imagine, we tell it about the lessons that made us stronger. We fought for ourselves. We may bend from time to time, but we don’t break anymore. We don’t break. And we knew it wouldn’t be easy… nothing ever is… but the pain is no longer a sharp edge reminder. We replaced the pain with the healing, changed the plot of our story.  We re-routed our journey. Now we say, “I learned a lot about myself during that time of my life, but mostly I learned about the person I’ll never be again. I’m stronger now. I made it. I’m still standing. And I wouldn’t go back for anything.”  Inhale your peace. You earned it. It was never easy, but you were always worth it. 
-Stephanie Bennett-Henry