Saturday / July 09 / 2011
Finding hope in brokenness: the intersection of real life and hopes-n-dreams
The will to survive is so powerful, it’s instinctual. Even so, in your most desperate moments it takes courage to cry out for help. It takes guts to step forward and admit guilt long before being caught.
Enter Jasmine (the name I’ll use to protect her privacy). Jasmine is a strong, passionate woman in that don’t-worry-about-me, I-can-do-it-all, “superwoman” kind of way (I heard that “amen!”) She’s been married a couple of times, smokes, hates spiders, has a huge problem with gambling, and is currently facing possible prison time because of it. She also loves cats, gardening, hanging her sheets on a clothesline to dry, and walking around barefoot so she can feel the earth.
She’s a lot like the rest of us, trying to find the intersection of real life and hopes-n-dreams.
I’ve seen Jasmine several times at one of my frequent stomping grounds, but never really exchanged more than a friendly, “hello”. Today, our paths serendipitously crossed and my heart has been forever changed.
Jasmine opened her heart and life to me, a virtual stranger, noting she no longer wants to remain a hidden person. I love that.
The many things she’s struggled with are so excruciating, she tried to take her own life just a few months ago. “Superwoman crashed,” she noted, relating back to my analogy. And when she crashed, she cried out for help.
The journey won’t be easy or short, but with that one strand of strength she had left, she grasped hold of hope. Hope for a future. For restoration. For acceptance. For love. Finding that hope in her brokenness has been her survival. She doesn’t know if she considers life a gift… but she wants to.
Thank you for impacting my heart, Jasmine. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and encouraging me to grasp life and live this moment.
Welcome to the “you evolution”. You are cherished. xo
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