"Through all you did not know, you miraculously continued to grow. You kept going, you kept the faith, and this prepared you for today."

Here’s the thing about waiting: while it requires so much out of you, it also pours something into you: an unshakeable strength that grows more steady with time. And you might not see it in the moment. You might not feel strength filling you up like fresh water from the spring, but that doesn’t mean it is not growing within you, so that you can carry on another minute, another hour, another day.

You might feel that your time has been wasted, that you would be much better off if you were further along. And the truth is, there is no way of really knowing how different things would be if you were somehow able to go back and fix or undo something, or change someone’s mind, but no matter how idyllic the landscape is that you have painted in your mind of what could have been, there is so much growth that happens when you can let it go, and embrace the reality that here, in the now, there is still a life worth living for. There is still hope for the future. And the more you are able to do this, the more you will grow in strength, even while you are waiting.

And keep in mind that strength in the waiting will look different from person to person. There might be someone in your life who has been waiting on the same thing you are waiting for, and you cannot help but to admire her strength. You cannot help but to notice the way she gracefully clings to peace in this season, how deeply rooted she is, how wise her words are, and how she has so courageously faced her deepest fears and still manages to have a smile on her face. No matter where you are in your waiting you are no less than her in any way. If you cannot quite figure out how to smile today, that’s okay. That does not mean that you are not strong. You are no less important or worthy if the highlight of your strength today was choosing to get out of bed this morning. May you never compare your strength to anyone else’s.

Also, may you never compare your strength to your past self, or a previous season of your life. Maybe you can remember a time in your life where you felt like you had a little more energy, or you had a little more potential, or you were a little more beautiful, well-traveled, happy...may you never look at an old photograph or journal entry or a vivid memory of your former self as someone who was superior to your current self. Sure things have changed, but that is a sign that you are a living, breathing being. You may have scars and stories now that you did not have back then, and maybe you are still healing from them, but may you never forget the way these things have made you stronger. May you never forget that:

Years ago,

you did not know

you would be here.

You did not know

you would need to be as strong

as you are having to be right now.

But through all you did not know,

you miraculously continued to grow.

You kept going,

you kept the faith,

and this prepared you

for today.

More tomorrow…

Sincerely,

Morgan Harper Nichols