Giving Back on the Journey

Peace isn’t the only gift healing has given me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly grateful for the peace I’ve found. There was a time in my life when I wasn’t sure I would ever experience it. But when I sat down to write this post, I realized that peace isn’t the only gift my journey has given me.

Another wonderful gift is that I finally have something to give back.

That wasn’t always true.

There was a season of my life when every bit of my energy went into simply making it through the day. I was trying to understand why I thought the way I did, why I made the choices I made, and why I kept putting everyone else’s needs ahead of my own. Learning to set boundaries, take care of myself, and believe I had value wasn’t something that happened overnight. It took years, and there were plenty of times I wondered if I was making any progress at all.

Looking back now, I realize healing is a little like climbing a mountain.

When you’re at the bottom, you’re focused on your next step because that’s all you have the strength to do. You aren’t thinking about who might be behind you. You’re simply trying to keep moving.

Then one day you stop…

You look back…

And you realize you’ve climbed farther than you ever thought you would.

That’s when you notice someone else beginning the climb.

When I started Journey On Strong back in 2012, I wasn’t trying to encourage anyone else. I was trying to untangle my own thoughts. Writing became part of my healing long before I realized it. Some days I wrote because I was hurting. Other days I wrote because I had learned something I didn’t want to forget. Mostly, I wrote because I needed somewhere to be honest.

I never imagined people would actually read what I was writing.

Even more surprising were the messages that started arriving. Someone would tell me a post made them feel understood. Another person would say they had been searching online and somehow ended up on Journey On Strong. They’d thank me for sharing my story because it reminded them they weren’t alone.

Every time that happens, I think the same thing.

That could have been me.

Because years ago, I was the one looking for hope. I was the one wondering if healing was even possible.

These days, giving back doesn’t always look the way I imagined it would.

Sometimes it looks like writing a blog post.

Sometimes it looks like answering an email from someone I’ve never met.

Sometimes it looks like sitting across from a friend with a cup of coffee and listening while she shares what’s on her heart.

Sometimes it simply looks like saying, “I understand.”

I’ve learned that giving back isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to share the hope we’ve found along the way.

Journey On Strong started because I needed it.

I needed a place where I could be honest. A place where I could process what I was learning and remind myself that healing was possible.

I never imagined it would become a place where someone else might find hope too.

If you’ve been reading for years, thank you for walking this journey with me.

If you’re new here, welcome.

No matter where you are on your own journey, I hope you know this…

One day you’ll look back and realize you’ve come farther than you thought.

And when that day comes, I hope you’ll do what so many people did for me.

Turn around.

Reach back.

And remind someone else to keep going.

Because sometimes one of the amazing gifts healing gives us isn’t what it does for us.

It’s what it allows us to do for someone else.

Journey on Strong!