THE WORLD LOOKS A LITTLE BIT BRIGHTER

You know that scene in Lord of the Rings where Gandalf frees Theoden from Saurman's spell, and the years fall off of Theoden and his eyes become clear and bright again? (Don't remember? You can watch a clip HERE.)

That scene feels like a snapshot of my life over the past year.

This year - 2026 - has been a doozy. I have been sad...a lot. I cry easily. Life as I once knew it is over, and the future looks uncertain and scary.

But tears, heartache, grief, and fear are NOT the whole story.

I have slept better these past few months than I have slept in years.

I catch myself smiling for no particular reason.

I sing or hum when I cook or clean.

I laugh more.

I apologize less for simply being me and taking up space.

I have been tracking my blood pressure each day for the past several months: 126/70, 124/70, 116/70, 121/65, 117/68...Those are good numbers, y'all. CRAZY how much better my blood pressure is these days.

Earlier this year. Those are bad numbers, y'all...VERY bad.

I am deeply grateful for the many evidences of God's faithfulness to me during a dark season.

And on a good day - a reeeeally good day, like today - I find I am beginning to dream. To imagine, in teeny-tiny ways, what life might look like, after all the heartache, confusion, hurt, pain, and loss.

The world is beginning to look a little bit brighter, Dear Friends.

God is sovereign. God is good. And God loves me very, very much.

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"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." - 1 Peter 2:9