You never lose the old, only gain the new.

You never lose the old, only gain the new.

There is no such thing as "getting over it." No such thing as "healing it." There is only that new self, that new life, you build for yourself. Once you live through hell, it always remains in your memory, in the solid bands of strength that define your character. Walking through hell--climbing out of it--defines you. Don't hate or regret it. Just know, no matter how far you think you travel beyond it, it will always be ready to assert itself over your life.

You can only keep moving forward. You can choose to walk away from it, toward joy, toward a good life, toward Heaven and all of God's blessings. You can choose that for yourself. You can do it every day.

Scars remain on the body. A scar is not something fully healed, but a permanent mar, a flaw that might be gruesome and unrelenting. Yet despite all the flaws of the body, the soul continues to grow. With each new period of growth, our soul becomes stronger, wiser, bigger than it used to be. We can move beyond our flaws. Eventually, we grow beyond our scars and move on to better, higher selves. But we will always remember the darkness that made us what we are.

Loneliness

So what if you're not liked?

We weren't given much time, either way. A lifetime? 80 years?

God is the only permanent companion. Surely, you must realize that by now. Why become so attached to others, when you already know their inevitable departure?

Why try to impress? Why try to hold on?

You and I, my friend, are not like they who don't have the Spirit. The loneliness eats at us, because even surrounded by our fellow man, we feel that emptiness of their hearts. When we surround ourselves with those who are sleeping, God feels absent from the world. No matter what the circle, without fellowship of Spirit, I inevitably feel alone.

Loneliness has become, in a way, like God. Because here, I can feel His love beside me, and His love is greater than all worldly desires.

I don't know where I am called. I don't know where I go, or what I see. But with God as my guide and savior, I continue to explore the world, and learn about myself and my purpose.

 Life is an endless mystery. What to value, what to maintain, what to seek, what to hold dear...we never stop seeking. But God is here in the woodwork, hiding beneath our fingers and along the narrow angle of a shelf.