The Day After

Memory is a strange thing in life. I don’t remember what I did the day after my Mom died. Or the day after or the day after. But things got done. Life continued on with work, traffic, bills, and everything else, even though it seemed the world was moved of it’s axis. And that is what life does, it continues by its very nature.

And every day, I built better, grew stronger, prayed more, and slowly moved forward even in the white out blizzard conditions of grief. Until one day, it was today. Five years later.

Five years. Wow. I have worked hard, taken thousands of steps, over millions of miles, carried all that I own in every type of container, in boats, cars, trucks, and planes. It has taken prayer, long hours, years, and an extraordinary amount of heartbeats. But here I am.

Yes, here I am, in this place, in this moment, in this step, this breath, this everything. Every atom in the universe has conspired and implored me to be right where I am.

And where I am is beautiful. Finally, I am where I have worked and prayed so hard to be. Surrounded by good friends in this place I have come to love and call home. A career that has been crazy busy, about to buy another house, getting everything together, and attempting to keep my current house clean. And I am here with the love of my life, which I’d amazing in and of itself.

The main thing is that all the struggle, all the hardship, all the heartbreak, all the disappointment, all the everything- its all worth it. Because it doesn’t last long and will eventually lead you where you need to be. And when you get there, you and your life will be more rich, more beautiful, and much deeper than you ever thought possible, with a patina borne from surviving and overcoming it all. And there is no shine like that of perseverance. After all, the universe has no choice but to fall in love with a stubborn heart.

Life is short. But some how, everything fits. All the adventure and love and heartache and the good, bad, and the ugly. And it’s all worth it. So keep your heard up, remember what your knees are for, have faith, and hang on because the light is at the end of the tunnel. It all works out. You just have to get through it, that’s all. And you will. And when you do, the view on the other side is spectacular. I’ll meet you there,