I wish I could tell you when the pain was going to leave. I wish I could tell you an exact date when the struggle, the humiliation and the shame will be gone. I can't and I really hate that.

What I can tell you is the sun always comes back around.

Night can and will be long but it cannot and will not last forever. I can tell you that, while the situation didn't have to happen, the universe will honor your tears and frustration. They water the seeds that are each and every step you take in hopes of moving forward.

Healing is hard. Getting free from what weighed you down and broke your spirit will be the most difficult thing you've ever done. But, when you do it...when you commit to becoming whole and well, you will thrive and you will soar in ways you did not believe were possible.

Let healing do its great work. Ask the questions. Answer the questions. Cry the tears. Cuss the words. Hold and feel it all. And, then, release it. Welcome and lean into every opportunity that present itself, large and small, to being your best self.

And don't go backwards. Even if you have been called to return to people and situations in your past, let them be new. It cannot be Jacob anymore; it's gotta be Israel now. Reconciliation and restoration are possible. Still, forward movement must be all you know.

I can't tell you when it will be over but I can tell you that it will end. And I can tell you that you will survive it. And I can tell you that the person who will emerge will be a person you will love and protect fiercely. The person will be someone you will be deeply proud of.