HOPE

Every day I have to stop and tell myself there is hope, that I'm lucky to even be alive. As a pre-teen I was abducted, raped, and nearly killed. That weekend lasted years subjectively but at the end I had hope. I heard my brother call to me as I was blacking out for what I thought was going to be the last time. Ever. He rescued me. About a week later his voice woke me in the hospital. I lost my childhood, my vocal cords, my ability to bear children, and almost all my dignity. But there was hope.

Hope let me learn Sign Language so I could communicate again. Hope let me relearn trust over the next decade or so. Hope let me believe that I could rebuild, not in the direction my life had been headed, but in new directions with new possibilities.

There will be more challenges to come, more set backs, more hardship, but there will be hope. Always hope. I tell stop and tell myself that every day. Every. Day.

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Inspired by the Lord Winter Jefferson's Monday Meme post on Strawberry Singh's blog here.