You never know how strong you are

The world came crashing down around me or maybe I was falling unable to catch myself.
Family surrounded me to help cushion the blow...but the world kept turning.
I would watch people, laughing, going on with their lives.
What is wrong with them can't they see that the world isn't the same,
MY WORLD ISN'T THE SAME!
Everything I thought I knew had changed in an instant.
I have walked these halls, I know these smells, but never with such emotion.
Never with such fear of the unknown.

And once I hit the bottom the only way to go was up.
Never have I felt the power of prayer so strongly.
I never knew that I could actually feel the prayers of others
lifting me, guiding me, and giving me hope
To get up, to try, to build, to move forward
with a strength beyond my own.

The panic of the day seemed like it would never end.
But hours turned to days, and days into years.
And the wound continues to heal, some days forgotten
Some days so real.

It changed who I am
I am stronger than I know
It makes me a better person.
A better mom.
And a stronger wife.
It changed us, we are stronger for it.
We work for it.

One chess game at a time.
Each move strategic.
We rebuild, we over come.

"We learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favourable change, and that of persevering in search of resources."
Benjamin Franklin

"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have."
 Author Unknown