Hope Rising Project

Each year for World Suicide Prevention Day, To Write Love on Her Arms organizes a campaign centered around a theme. And each year I participate in sharing my story in relation to that theme.

This years theme: Stay. Find what you were made for.

In a year where I have experienced the highest of highs and the deepest pains. A  year where I spend days helping strangers fight the grips of addiction and my nights begging those I care for to just hold on. A year where I have finally felt as if I put my struggles far behind me, only to be thrown into circumstances that were all too familiar and far too painful to bear. A year when I stepped away from a life that was comfortable and easy and jumped feet first into the unknown. A year where I finally had my dreams come true and celebrated yet another milestone in my recovery.

This theme seems almost like kismet to me, because this has been a year that has tried and tested me, shown beauty and strength in the trials, and made me realize just what I was made for.

I  was made for dancing beneath the moonlight with sand between my toes.
for the tranquility and peace that an ocean can bring.
for standing in the rain and letting joy wash over me.
for the divine pain that comes from laughing too hard for too long with loved ones.
for the feeling of awe that covers me every time I watch the sun set.
for warm cups of coffee on silent cloudy days
for the adventures and wisdom found between the pages of a book.
for the rhythm of drums and guitars that flow through my veins.
for the words in the songs that feel as if they were written for myself alone.

I was made for the power of forgiveness and redemption.
for lifting others up and never tearing down
for sharing in the sacred joys in the lives of those I love.
for the power of a good conversation and a good meal
for midnight phone calls and the comfort in the strength of arms.

I was made for COMMUNITY.
I was made for meeting others in the midst of their labyrinth and guiding them to light.
I was made to hold the broken pieces of others lives and help them find the beauty in putting it back together.
I was made for embracing my own second chance at life and helping others do the same.

I was made for LOVING fiercely and fully.

I made for believing in HOPE.

I was made to live this life with intention, gratefully, joyfully, and courageously

Because I am a living, breathing, glorious second chance.

Because I chose to Stay. To find what I was made for.

So Please Stay. Find what YOU were made for.