When she looks back on her life, she sees a faded memory of a girl unsure about herself, frighten, lost, and insecure. She can’t help but see sheer pain, disappointments, mistakes, and heartaches.
She thinks about the roads she’s traveled: Roads filled with quicksand, like the dry Sahara desert, and potholes the size of Texas that tried to swallow her whole!
She thinks about the battles she’s fought for her marriage, her sanity, and her four small children:
She thinks about the struggles she’s endured from abandonment as a child and then again as an adult, along with the failures and the low self-esteem:
She thinks about the sacrifices she’s made in walking away from her education, the stark reality of letting go of a special-needs child for the child’s best interest, and putting her own dreams on hold.
She thinks about the love she’s lost in saying goodbye to her baby sister, her beloved grandparents, and her 15 years of marriage:
She thinks about the tears she’s shed in her loneliness, with emptied promises, shame, and pain:
But as she looks back on her life, she also sees the lessons that she’s learned:
She sees a girl …
Not one who scratched and clawed her way to the top. But a girl who had just enough grit to float to prevent from sinking when life tried to weigh her down. Who walked on pebbles and used them as her stepping stones to get to higher ground. Who’s childlike faith in the God above would blossom into something much greater than herself. While she may have had a father figure missing in action, she’d come to know her Heavenly Father who never left her side.
When she looks in the mirror and what does she see?
A girl once dejected and rejected. She no longer is that sad, little girl. So don’t you feel sorry for her. Applaud her, because it was during the dry seasons that she discovered an oasis. Rejoice with her, because in the darkness is where she found a beacon of light. Admire her for rising above her crisis in spite of her circumstances.
She may have started out in the valley, pecking along like a chicken digging for worms. But then the Ancient of Days taught her to spread her wings like an eagle and soar into the heavens over the mountaintop.
Don’t cry for her, feel sad for her, or grieve for her.
If you’re looking for a lost and lonely child, she is not here. Misunderstood, she may be; a wonder to many she may be. If you’re looking for perfection, she is not that girl; she still has flaws. If you expect to see sophistication or to hear profound eloquence, you may be disappointed.
Her past may even want to dictate her future, the voices in her head play a broken song; her name may even mean “bitter” — but she refuses to be that girl anymore.
What kind of girl is she?
A simple girl.
A grateful girl.
A blessed girl.
She believes in second chances & new beginnings.
She is stronger today for everything she endured. Her scars serve to remind her that she is a survivor. She appreciates the beauty of living life one day at a time. She surrounds herself with those who encourage and genuinely care for her. She clothes herself with a garment of praise, amazed by the wonders of God’s grace.
When she looks in the mirror, what does she see?
She sees a girl turned woman.
If wrinkles must be written upon her brows, she refuses to let them be written upon the heart.
She is more than a conqueror.
She sees strength, learned lessons, and pride in herself.
Sad? No. Alone? No. Afraid? No.
Not that girl anymore.
© M.A. Pérez 2018, All Rights Reserved
Reflections From the Heart 