Sister, if we're being honest, we all carry bags. We all carry loads, some heavier than others - but we all have them. You know the one's I'm talking about. Those things that keep us awake at night and weigh heavy on our minds. We battle them. Sometimes on the surface while others of us fight battles no one knows about; our scars not always outwardly visible.

To the world all seems perfect. Normal. Average. Yet on the inside a war is raging in our hearts and in our minds, but we push forward. We soldier on. We fight the good fight and give it our all. But sometimes, sometimes the voices scream louder than we can bare, and we hit our knees in defeat.

But sister I am here to tell you that whatever that hard thing is that you are facing; whatever that hard thing is that's weighing so heavily on your shoulders - IT WILL NOT BREAK YOU.

It will not define you, unless you let it.

Hard times? They are inevitable. They will always come, like the ebb and flow of the tide. They take on different shapes and different weight at different times, but sister no one ever walked this life and appreciated what they had without walking through fire along the way.

I know you are tired. I know sometimes you want to give in, but life isn't lived waiting in the beauty. It's lived by rising from the ashes. It's lived by showing up time and time again, torn and tattered only to look back and see who you have become.

When you're heavy in the midst of your struggle. When it's dark and you feel alone. When the mountain seems more like a sheer cliff; an infinite drop to nowhere. When you feel as though you are isolated and alone.

Know that I have been there too but hear me - IT WILL NOT DEFINE YOU.

I don't care if it's sickness, loss, family issues, financial burdens, divorce, job loss; you name it.

We ALL have baggage. Some just hide it better than others.

But sis, I encourage you to lean into it. Let it mold you. Let it show you everything that you are and everything you are becoming. Let it change you. Don't be afraid of it.

Growth doesn't happen when we are stagnant and complacent - it happens when our strength is tested. It happens in that moment when you hit your knees and declare that you have nothing left to give.

That's when you see it. The woman you were and the woman you are becoming. Right then and there on the bathroom floor - when you rise. And mark my words, sis you will indeed RISE.

Why?

Because you are stronger than you think. Because in moments when we are tested and sent to the brink we piece it back together ...

Piece by piece
Brick by brick

That woman. I can see her. Rising above the ashes with a fire in her soul and a passion burning brightly.

She is fierce.
She is strong.
She is unstoppable.
She is a fighter.
She is YOU.

You ARE the fire.