As I sat in darkness a gentle voice resonated in my spirit, "Just show up." Then shame started talking, "What if you answer the door and find disappointment is standing on your doorstep? The sudden discomfort continued. I knew I had to make a choice. Do I continue to hide or do I show up? I didn't even think I could lift my body up. I was so use to living in darkness.
Suddenly, light broke into the room. I followed the light to the door. Strong arms broke through the door and lifted me up. Before I could even try to fight back, I found myself dusting sand off my knees. Moments passed before my eyes could adjust to the light. My lungs were filled with moisture as I took in each breath. My ears were ringing with other people's voices. I wanted to run. I wanted the voices to stop. Immediately dread started to take me down. Then, I felt something different being in this new place. There was no darkness. I wanted desperately to run to my safe place, yet there was no place to hide.
Even though my body trembled, I realized that day that courage knocked at my door, and was now asking me to show up as we sojourned together as writers. I didn't know how I was going to live this new normal, but for the first time I felt alive. I took a deep breath of contentment knowing that courage would see me through this journey.
