I thought pain would harden me.
But instead, it hollowed me—so that love could echo louder.
I’ve learned that strength isn’t always the loudest voice.
Sometimes it’s the quiet refusal to become bitter.
It’s choosing softness after the storm.
It’s praying for someone who never said they were sorry.
It’s smiling at the sky even after it’s rained on you.
Lord, let me be soft where the world expected me to break.
~marty
