I’ve survived a lot in my sixty-seven years. Abuse, trauma, addiction, depression. And, every time I’ve gone through a rough patch, I come out feeling such a tremendous sense of relief and gratitude that the pain finally stopped. I have to say…I felt that yesterday. When you are in the trenches for a long time, it’s really easy to convince yourself you’re doing ok. It’s not so bad. I can do this. Then, when the weight is lifted, you realize just how awful it was down there. It’s the same as when you’ve been very sick with a bad flu. When you feel better is when you realize just how sick you really were.
It seems something as ubiquitous as the “Bernie Memes” swept the internet, our country came out of the water at the deep end and gasped a lung full of fresh air. You could almost feel a collective sigh as people everywhere belly laughed for maybe the first time in a long, long time. It felt good. No…it felt GREAT! It felt liberating….like coming out of a dark winter into the warm sunshine of spring.
It’s been a rough stretch for an awful lot of people in this country and Bernie sitting in a chair EVERYWHERE was just what the doctor ordered. I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders as I saw thread after thread on the internet…each meme funnier that the last. It felt…normal. Like, normal life. The Covid numbers are still awful, but they just might be slowing down ever so slightly. The vaccines are slowly trickling out, but help is on the way to coordinate the effort. And each day has incrementally more light in it that the day before as we slowly inch our way toward spring.
The sun was shining yesterday here at the Ponderosa. I sat in my big red recliner and worked all day on my website and I’m making great progress. I am up to the first week of September 2016. Once I finish copying November 14, 2016…everything will be on my website. What an accomplishment that will be. To be able to scroll down and see eight years of work at my fingertips. It makes me giddy to think such a huge undertaking is nearly complete. Between that and the stress released by lots of belly laughs…I’m feeling like a new woman today! We aren’t totally out of the woods yet, but my strength has been renewed and I can face another day…with a whole boatload more hope!
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“I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.”
Romans 15:13 CEV