By Debi Lemon
It wasn’t supposed to go this way.
One moment, you were you—
Moving through life,
Holding it together (or faking it pretty well).
Then it hit.
Maybe slowly, maybe all at once—
But suddenly, the world was before and after.
Everything changed. 💔
The way your body moved—or didn’t.
The way people looked at you.
The way you looked at yourself.
You mourned.
You raged.
You doubted.
And you survived.
Some days, survival was the victory.
Getting out of bed.
Facing mirrors.
Laughing at something dumb just to remember you still could.
And then—
Slowly, imperfectly—
You started to see something else.
A crack of light.
A question forming:
What if this isn’t the end?
What if it’s the beginning of something I never saw coming?
You found strength—not in pretending to be okay—
But in showing up anyway.
In asking for help.
In learning new ways to live, to move, to love.
You discovered purpose—not in the life you lost—
But in the one you’re building.
Right here.
Right now.
Not the same life.
Maybe not the life you would’ve picked.
But one that’s honest.
Rich in meaning.
Lit by gratitude, grit, and a fire inside
That never quite went out.
You didn’t just survive this.
You transformed.
And now?
This chapter is yours.
Blank page.
Pen in hand.
You get to decide what comes next.
The world might still throw chaos your way—
But you?
You’ve already proven
That you hold the power inside
To bend, to rise,
And to thrive. 💕
