----All Glory Goes To Jesus Christ ~

---"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my right hand."
--[Isaiah 41:10]

It was a few days before Christmas and I had a houseful of family and delicious Puerto Rican food. I lifted my phone out an dover my head to take a selfie with my loved ones smiling in the back ground. My lips were painted red.

The next day, a memory popped up on my social media page. It was a picture of my sister and me eight years ago.

My face was angled in the same direction as in my Christmas photo, and my hair was pulled back in my usual ponytail. But there was a clear difference in these two photographs The one was my sister was a week my husband and I separated This was the beginning o my journey as a single mom.

I placed the two images side by side. On the left, the weight of the world was so heavy on my face, not even my smile could disguise it. To the e right, I was a woman full of light and life. I ached for this hollow person on the left, recalling so clearly her pain.

Even now I wish I could go back and encourage her, tell her that she'll find joy once more, and that her heart will heal.

I want to let her know that although the process of grief is long and painful, it's completely worth it on the other side. I wish I could tell her that she's stronger than she thinks or feels, and she'll accomplish more than she's ever dreamed. And in her darkest moments, when all she wants to do is give up, I want to tell her to hold on! But t that is something I can never do. All I do is be grateful that she did. ' Hold on, everything will be alright. We know the end of the story. Jesus wins!

--Guideposts/KV~
--<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnRlZiG2RMg>
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