#HopeInTheShadows

[jmikepatt]

Bridges in the Darkness: A Path to Unity

I’ve watched how division spreads like wildfire, fueled by words of hate and fear. It’s everywhere—on platforms, in conversations, even within families. I’ve felt the weight of this separation, where the labels we wear matter more than the hearts we carry.

But in my darkest moments of frustration, I realized something: this cycle doesn’t have to define us. Change begins when we stop viewing each other through the lenses of political affiliation or ideology and start recognizing the humanity we share. Hate thrives in darkness, but even the faintest spark of understanding can start to bridge the divide.

I’ve chosen to reject division—not by ignoring the pain it causes, but by becoming part of the solution. One conversation at a time, one bridge at a time. It’s a journey that requires strength, patience, and the courage to confront the darkness with light.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” — Romans 12:21

"Change is created by choice."

[astramari1212]

Rediscovering Her

For the Woman at 40

When she was young, she danced in the light, full of dreams spun in colors bright. Hope hummed like a song in her veins, and laughter broke as a gentle rain.

But as years wrapped their weight around, the brightness sank, her laughter drowned. Memories blurred, energy dimmed, and life’s harsh edge grew ever-trimmed.

She wondered—was this a price to pay for being flawed in some nameless way? Had she been so wrong, so undeserving that love itself turned cold and unnerving? Must she serve with unthanked hands, forever unseen, across unseen sands?

Yet, 40 is a fine number, strong, a quiet anthem, an older song. In that number, she found grace, a wisdom no one could replace. For what she lost, she gained anew and suffering taught her what strength could do.

The harder they pushed, the stronger she grew, each wound a seed that bloomed and knew that doubts, like shadows, fade with dawn, for strength is born when all seems gone.

She has her days of distrust, it’s true, twenty years left scars that grew— yet, somewhere beneath, that little girl hides, with dreams and hope that refuse to die.

She whispers, “One day, I’ll dance once more, I’ll shake off shadows, lift from the floor.” For she is both warrior and child within, and she fights, in silence, to rise again.

[jmikepatt]

Embracing the Dark to Find My Strength

There’s a unique power in facing the shadows within ourselves—a kind of clarity that only reveals itself in the dark. I’ve spent time in those heavy moments, feeling the weight of uncertainty and fear, wondering if I would ever find my way through. Darkness, for me, isn’t just a metaphor; it’s something I’ve walked through, stumbled in, and even feared. But as I’ve learned, facing it changed something inside me.

I remember times when life felt like a storm, and I stood alone on the edge of my own fears, questioning my purpose and the point of it all. But it was in those moments, when I was stripped of comfort and pretense, that I began to see myself more clearly. I found strength I didn’t know I had, and I began to believe that maybe the darkness had a purpose too—to reveal the light that could only be found from within.

Each step forward, I’ve realized, is a testament to resilience. Even in the darkest places, there’s a whisper of hope, a glint of something greater than the fear itself. Embracing my journey through the shadows has shown me that light is not always obvious, but it’s always there, ready to be seen.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” — Psalm 23:4

Enjoy the day you create!

https://www.jmikepatt.com